The ancient ceremony has been held for more than 1,000 years, and today’s ceremony will see a whole host of acts be promulgated.
These include the Sexual Offences and Obscene Publications Act 2021, the Justice Reform Act 2021, the Human Tissue and Organ Donation Act 2021, the Climate Change Act 2021 and the Liquor Licensing and Public Entertainments Act 2021.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Petitions for Redress will be presented to the Clerk of Tynwald at the foot of the hill.
The Reverend Canon Margaret Barrow will present a petition regarding church access.
She is to request that Tynwald should work with the church authorities to ‘install a permanent access which caters for all abilities’ at the Church of St John the Baptist, in the village of St John’s.
The Church of St John the Baptist is more colloquially known as the Royal Chapel, which hosts the Tynwald Day service of worship that takes place before participants move on to Tynwald Hill.
It is built on the site of an ancient keeill and was first referred to in 1557, but was likely to have been built before this date.
In 1847 the chapel was demolished and in 1849 the current building was constructed from local granite and marble.
Tynwald Day regular Trevor Cowin has submitted four Petitions for Redress this year.
His first addresses the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration; the second concerns a petition he submitted at last year’s Tynwald Day, which was struck down.
The third is against the members of the Standing Orders Committee of Tynwald for ‘failing to include in its report to Tynwald on Petitions for Redress’ two of his petitions from 2020.
And his fourth petition is against the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) for ‘sanctioning the demolition of Glenfaba House without planning approval for such demolition’.
He argues that DEFA ‘blatantly disregarded the purpose of the Town & Country Planning Act 1999’.
New faces
This year will be the first Tynwald ceremony for a number of new faces.
During the ceremony, the sword of state is carried in front of the Sovereign, or their representative, by the Sword Bearer.
This will be Andrew Cunningham’s first year in the role.
It is also the first Tynwald Day for Alfred Cannan’s government – both for him as Chief Minister and for several MHKs who were elected in September.
The Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer will also be there as the 31st Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man.
A Jubilee Dolphin calf painted for the Lieutenant Governor as part of the Hospice Big Splash event by artist David Britton will also be out for Tynwald Day.