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The Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's Accession to the Throne (Thai:พระราชพิธีฉลองสิริราชสมบัติครบ ๖๐ ปี พุทธศักราช ๒๕๔๙;RTGS: Phra Ratcha Piti Chalong Siriratchasombat Khrop Hok Sip Pi Phuttha Sakkarat Song Phan Ha Roi Si Sip Kao) were the celebrations held throughoutThailand in 2006 to celebrateKingBhumibol Adulyadej's60 years on the throne. The celebrations were arranged by the Royal Thai Government withThaksin Shinawatra asPrime Minister, and attended by representatives of other monarchies.
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King Bhumibol selected one of twelve designs presented by the Fine Arts Department of theMinistry of Culture to be the official emblem for the celebrations. The emblem selected was designed by department artist Somchai Supphalakamphaiphon.
There are several symbols in the emblem. The centerpiece is acypher of the king's name in golden yellow, thecolour of Monday, his day of birth. The cypher is set on a blue background, which is a royal colour. The device is encircled with diamonds, which symbolise wise men, important authors, craftsmen, the sacredwhite elephant, graceful women, vigorous soldiers, and public servants.
The Royal Regalia that circumscribe the device: theGreat Crown of Victory surmounts the throne, flanked by a sword and ayak's tail whisk; under the throne is a pair of royal slippers. These five objects are used incoronation ceremonies, which were last used during the king's coronation on 5 May 1950.
The bottom of the emblem features a pink ribbon with the name of the celebrations inscribed in gold. The two ends of the ribbon are held by the monkey godHanuman, the devotee and leader ofRama's army in theRamakien, andGaruda, theHindu godVishnu's vehicle. The green and gold colors in the background represent the fertility of the land.[1]
The king endorsed the royal programmes during the periods of June 2006 as follows:
| Date | Time | Ceremony | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, 8 June | 17:00 | The merit making royal ceremony in dedication to the royal ancestors | Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall |
| Friday, 9 June | 09:00–17:00 | The letting of the public paying of homage to the royal ancestors | Phra Thep Bidon Hall,Wat Phra Si Rattanasatsadaram |
| 10.00 hours | The homage paying royal ceremony in dedication to the royal ancestors.Thai:พระราชพิธีบวงสรวงสมเด็จพระบูรพมหากษัตริยาธิราชและเสด็จออกมหาสมาคม (Phra ratchaphithi buangsuang somdet phra burapha maha kasattriyathirat lae sadet ok maha samakhom). King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit lit candles in front of the worship items, paid homages to the Buddha Images, presented the commemorative fans to the 10 high ecclesiastic monks, rested on the throne, vowed adherence to the Buddhist sermon. | Anantasamakhom Throne Hall | |
| King Bhumibol Adulyadej andQueen Sirikit holding the grand audience. After that, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej gave the royal reply speech.[2][3] | Balcony of Anantasamakhom Throne Hall | ||
| Saturday, 10 June | 17:00 | The 60th Year on Throne Anniversary Royal Celebrations:
| Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall |
| Monday, 12 June | 16:00 | King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, as well as members of the royal household, welcoming the visiting monarchs (Thai:พิธีพระประมุขและผู้แทนพระองค์จากพระราชวงศ์ต่างประเทศถวายพระพรชัยมงคล,romanized: Phithi phra pramuk lae phu thaen phra ong chak phra ratchawong tang prathet thawai phra phon chaiyamongkhon) | Anantasamakhom Throne Hall |
| 18:30 | The monarchs inspecting the Royal Projects Exhibition andthe Royal Barge Procession ((Thai:พิธีทอดพระเนตรกระบวนเรือพระราชพิธี,romanized: Phithi thot phra net krabuan ruea phra ratchaphithi) | The Royal Thai Navy's Auditorium, and Ratchanawikasapha (Royal Thai Navy Hall) | |
| 19:30 | The Opening Ceremony of the Exposition of Royal Honorification on Development (Thai:พิธีเปิดนิทรรศการเฉลิมพระเกียรติด้านการพัฒนา,romanized: Phithi poet nithatsakan chaloem phra kiat dan kan phatthana) | Royal Thai Navy Conference Hall | |
| Tuesday, 13 June | 19:30 | RoyalBanquet | Borommaratchasathit Maholan Hall,Grand Palace |
The royal ceremonies were broadcast in their entirety nationwide by theTelevision Pool of Thailand through every general television channel at the dates and times listed.
Thais wore royal yellow tee shirts to celebrate (although in some organisations it became mandatory), and as the main celebration period of 9–13 June approached, shirts bearing the celebrations' special emblem rapidly sold out. TheMinistry of Commerce ordered another 500,000 shirts to meet demand, and many people still wore yellow shirts weeks after the celebrations ended.
Also popular were orange rubber wristbands, similar to theLivestrong wristbands, inscribed "We love the King."
Photographs of the ceremonies are also popular. TheBureau of the Royal Household set up a photo lab specifically to fill orders for official images, and on Bangkok's streets there are vendors selling copies of the photos of the king and visiting royals.[4] Also, newspapers such as theBangkok Post andThe Nation reported brisk sales of commemorative publications.
On 16 January 2007, the government officially declared the end of the 60th anniversary celebrations and commenced year-long celebrations of Bhumibol's 80th birthday.[5]
Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain (representing theKing of Bahrain)
The Duke andDuchess of Brabant (representing theKing of the Belgians)
The Crown Prince of Bhutan (representing theKing of Bhutan)
The Sultan andQueen of Brunei
The King of Cambodia
The Prince Consort of Denmark (representing theQueen of Denmark)
The Emperor andEmpress of Japan
The King of Jordan
The Emir of Kuwait
The King andQueen of Lesotho
The Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein (representing thePrince of Liechtenstein)
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong andRaja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia
The Prince of Monaco
Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco (representingKing of Morocco)
The Prince of Orange andPrincess Máxima of the Netherlands (representing theQueen of the Netherlands)
The Crown Prince andCrown Princess of Norway (representing theKing of Norway)
Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said (representing theSultan of Oman)
The Emir andSheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned of Qatar
The Queen of Spain (representing theKing of Spain)
The King andQueen of Swaziland
The King andQueen of Sweden
The Crown Prince of Tonga (representing theKing of Tonga)
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (representing theEmir of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates)
The Duke of York (representing theQueen of the United Kingdom)