Royal troops rehearse for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
Bank holidays usually see stores operating on reduced hours – if at all – to allow staff to celebrate the event in question. This year, Britons will be celebrating the Queen’s 70-year reign with a special four-day Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend, due to kick off on Thursday, June 2. Alongside pubs, which have been granted an additional two-hour licence to remain open over the period, many other stores will be altering their opening hours accordingly.
The bank holiday weekend will span Thursday, June 2 right through to Sunday, June 5, to celebrate the historic reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the first British monarch to reach 70 years on the throne.
The official date of the Jubilee bank holiday is Friday, June 3, however, the late May bank holiday has been moved forward to Thursday, June 2, so Britons have more time to celebrate the momentous occasion.
If you’re planning any Platinum Jubilee parties or are cautious as to whether you’ll need to head out to grab any last-minute supplies over the weekend, you’ll want to know if and when the shops will be open.
Store opening hours tend to vary depending on location and store type, so shoppers are strongly advised to check the opening times of their local store before heading over to avoid disappointment.
However, for more general store opening guides, here’s a full guide for the shops you might need over the Jubilee bank holiday weekend.
Are shops open on Jubilee bank holiday? Full guide including Aldi, Tesco, IKEA and B&Q (Image: GETTY)
Aldi and Lidl opening hours
Aldi has confirmed its opening hours will follow its standard bank holiday times over the Jubilee bank holiday. This means stores will be open between 8am and 8pm across all stores, operating on slightly reduced hours from usual.
However, it’s still advised to check opening times for your local Aldi store – you can do so here.
Lidl has not yet confirmed its opening hours over the bank holiday, but it’s thought the store will also operate on its standard bank holiday hours of 8am to 8pm across its 800 stores.
You can check the opening hours of your local Lidl branch, here.
John Lewis will operate on reduced hours for the Jubilee bank holiday (Image: GETTY)
Waitrose and John Lewis opening hours
On Thursday, June 2 and Friday, June 3, the majority of Waitrose stores will remain open from 8am to 10pm, while some Little Waitrose stores will open from 7am to 10pm. However, most stores will return to trade normal hours on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5.
Likewise to Waitrose, John Lewis will also be operating on different hours over part of the special bank holiday weekend.
On Thursday, June 2 and Friday, June 3, the majority of John Lewis stores will be open from 9am to 8pm. However, on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5, store operating hours will return to normal.
You can check the opening hours of your local branch here.
Morrisons is due to open on its usual bank holiday hours (Image: GETTY)
Morrisons opening hours
Morrisons is also due to operate under its usual bank holiday opening hours over the Jubilee bank holiday. This means customers can shop from around 6am to 11pm, hours depending on location.
You can check your local branch’s opening hours, here.
Sainsbury’s opening hours
Sainsbury’s is yet to officially confirm its Jubilee bank holiday opening hours, but based on usual bank holiday hours, you might expect Sainsbury’s to open from 7am to 9pm. However, it’s advised to check your local branch before heading out as hours may vary.
You can check out your local Sainsbury’s opening hours, here.
Iceland shoppers could see reduced opening hours (Image: GETTY)
Asda and Iceland opening hours
Asda has said it will provide official opening hours on its store locator a week before the date, but based on its usual bank holiday hours, you might expect this store to be open from 8am to 8pm.
You can check your local branch using Asda’s tool, here.
Iceland has not yet confirmed its opening hours for the bank holiday weekend, although past patterns might indicate this store will be operating in hours from 8am to 9pm.
You can check your local Iceland store opening times, here.
Tesco and M&S opening hours
Like Iceland, Tesco has also not officially confirmed its opening hours for the bank holiday yet. However, Tesco usually operates from 8am to 6pm over a bank holiday, so you might expect these hours to stay the same over the Jubilee period.
The store always advises you to check your local branch opening times before heading out over these periods, as it can vary based on location, and whether it’s a Tesco Express store. To do this, you can use the online tool here.
M&S, which has also not announced its official opening hours yet, tends to follow similar bank holiday opening hours to Tesco. Across its 1,000 branches, M&S usually opens from 7am to 8pm over a bank holiday, so you should expect to see the same hours for the Jubilee.
However, it’s advised to check your local branch opening hours, here.
B&M customers should check their local store’s opening hours (Image: GETTY)
B&Q and B&M
These home improvement stores are always a big hit over bank holiday weekends, as this usually gives Britons a great opportunity to invest in some DIY while away from work.
Luckily for those hoping to stock up on supplies from B&Q, this store will remain open as usual over the course of the weekend.
B&Q said: “Our stores will remain open as normal across the Queen’s Jubilee Bank Holiday and we look forward to welcoming customers to help with all their home improvement needs.
“Customers are also able to place orders on diy.com for click and collect and home delivery.”
B&M are still yet to announce its official opening hours, but it did say it would keep customers in the loop nearer the time.
Usual bank holiday operating hours tend to see B&M closing its doors at 6.30pm instead of 8pm, so you could expect to see similar hours over the Jubilee weekend.
However, you can check your local branch opening hours here to be on the safe side.
Wilko staff are calling for union action over the Jubilee bank holiday (Image: GETTY)
Poundland and Wilko
Poundland and Wilko customers are advised to check the local branch opening hours of these stores before planning a visit, as each of these can change across site and location.
Poundland states hours may vary over bank holiday weekends, but you can check out your local store here.
Wilko also hasn’t announced its official opening hours over the bank holiday weekend yet however, the GMB Union for Wilko workers is currently calling on the company to give Wilko staff the national bank holiday off work.
Natalie Grayson, GMB Organiser, said: “It’s unpatriotic for an all-British brand to make a profit from selling Jubilee party goods whilst denying their staff the bank holiday.”
If this is accepted, it may mean Wilko stores will be closed on Thursday, June 2 and Friday, June 3.
Check the opening hours of your local store using its online tool, here.
Dunelm and Ikea
Dunelm hasn’t announced any official bank holiday opening hours for the Jubilee, nor any others in the past so you might expect this store to remain open as usual from 9am to 9pm.
You can check the official opening hours of your local Dunelm branch here.
Similar to Dunelm, Ikea also hasn’t announced any official opening times for the Jubilee bank holiday.
However, Ikea’s general opening hours over a bank holiday tend to be 9.30am to 8pm, so you might expect to see the same for the Queen’s Jubilee.
You can check the opening hours of your local Ikea branch here to be sure.