Queen’s Hall staff are expected to stage a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, as the facility was named after her decades ago.
This was confirmed by Bookings and Customer Relations Officer Colleen Cameron during an interview with the Guardian Media yesterday.
The tribute may be incorporated into its 63rd anniversary celebrations and commemoration of Republic Day celebrations.
“Queen’s Hall is named after the Queen. Our founder, Mrs May Johnstone, was English-born and when funds were being raised for Queen’s Hall, it was definitely because of her influence that Queen’s Hall was named after the British Monarch,” Cameron said.
Cameron recalled that during the Queen’s visit to Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 for CHOGM, the Queen visited Queen’s Hall where she met school children and unveiled its foundation stone.
“We do have some pictures that were taken of her and past and deceased President Maxwell George. Pictures of her at our function where she unveiled our foundation stone, which would have been laid in 1959 when Queen’s Hall started,” Cameron added.
Queen’s Hall is a state facility built in 1959 through the efforts of the music community led by May Johnstone, a music teacher, and was partially funded by the government of Trinidad & Tobago.
It was designed as a multi-purpose facility to accommodate theatrical presentations and various community activities.
On November 28, 2009, Queen’s Hall was visited by Queen Elizabeth II, who was in Trinidad as Head of the Commonwealth for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
The late President George Maxwell Richards escorted Her Majesty on her visit to Queen’s Hall.
Then First Lady Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards, as well as other government officials and dignitaries, were also in attendance that year.
On the occasion of her visit, and in commemoration of Queen’s Hall’s 50th anniversary, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled the foundation stone, which was originally laid in July 1958. A cultural programme was also held in the Queen’s honour to mark the occasion.