British Embassy in Zagreb Celebrates Queen's Birthday, Moves Beyond Plastic

One of the most eagerly anticipated Zagreb parties of the year took place at the British Embassy in Zagreb on June 6, 2019, as the Queen’s birthday was celebrated along with a message #BeyondPlastic.

I think that if there was one event in the Zagreb calendar I could choose to enjoy pleasant company and catch up with MANY people all in one go, it would have to be the Queen’s Birthday party, hosted each year at the residence of British Ambassador, His Excellency, Andrew Dalgleish.

I am sure the quality and free availability of the gin plays a part for this correspondent, but the turnout is always excellent, the company engaging, and the ample ambassadorial gardens a pleasure to walk around.

This year’s celebration was no exception, and popular Ambassador Dalgleish spent the evening doing the rounds and ensuring his guests were enjoying themselves.

The Ambassador’s speech (listen to it above) focused on the bonds that connect Croatia in the UK. He joked that he had expected last year’s speech to be the last as a member of the EU, but that he was still he. He also showed off his famous socks, having lost a bet with the Croatian ambassador to London last July, whereby the ambassador on the losing side of the World Cup semi-final committed to wearing the socks of the opposing country the next day.

In addition to celebrating Britain’s longest-serving monarch, the British Embassy was also pushing its #BeyondPlastic campaign, to highlight the need for drastic action regarding single-use plastic. With more than 8 million tons of plastic dumped in the world’s seas last year alone, the situation is alarming, and the British Embassy is running a campaign to encourage the banning of all single-use plastic.