Kiribati dances to perform at this years Observance for Commonwealth Day before the Queen

[Stacey King]

Press Association
Thursday, 05 March 2009


The Queen will feature in the first Twitter messages posted during a service at Westminster Abbey.
Staff from the historic place of worship will update the popular internet messaging site as the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and dignitaries take part in the Observance for Commonwealth Day next week.

Regular "tweets" about the progress of the event being held on Monday will allow users to follow the colourful celebration, which is staged every year.

A Westminster Abbey spokeswoman said they set up their Twitter profile around four weeks ago, and would feature other events "live" on the website if the trial proved successful.

She said: "We've got a new web manager in her 20s who is very up to date and it was her idea to start 'twittering'.

"The impetus behind the idea was we thought it would be a really good way to reach out to a new audience.
"It's just another tool in terms of getting people interested in the Commonwealth Observance."

Monday morning rehearsals for the event will also be featured on Twitter accompanied by pictures, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The Observance at the Abbey is the centrepiece of Monday's Commonwealth Day celebrations, which this year mark the 60th anniversary of the modern Commonwealth.

The service will feature performances by the South African tenor Njabulo Madlala, a steel band from Trinidad and Tobago, a dance group from the Pacific Ocean nation of Kiribati and a gospel choir.