BRITISH DELEGATION SET TO DEPART FOR GREAT BRITISH TOUR OF TEXAS PROMOTING UK
They say everything is bigger in Texas, and Her Majesty’s Consul General Richard Hyde will discover that to be true as he embarks on a road trip around the State beginning on Tuesday 6 September 2022.
Hyde and senior staff from the British Consulate located in Houston, will not be hard to spot in a Union Jack draped Jaguar as they travel to north and east Texas, with bonus side trips into Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The route will cover approximately 2,500 miles – nearly 3 times the length of the United Kingdom. This trip follows last year’s 2,500 mile road trip to central and west Texas, with a return drive along the length of the Texas-Mexico border.
Coming in the year of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the team will be honouring Queen Elizabeth’s 75th year on the throne by participating in the Queen’s Green Canopy, a global sustainability initiative to plant trees. Consul General Hyde will be planting a tree in each location visited, including one in each of the five states on the itinerary.
Along with the tree planting ceremonies, the team will also host town hall style ‘pop-up consulates’ to meet with local businesses, civic and political leaders and other interested groups. The meetings will highlight the close economic links that the UK has with the state of Texas (as well as celebrating some Great British food and drink!).
The British delegation will be promoting investment opportunities between Texas and the UK, with exports from Texas to the UK amounting to over $10 billion in 2018, with a combination of events helping to support a range of UK interests across business, trade, defence, education and other sectors.
180 years after the UK Government first appointed a representative to Texas, this tour is also a chance to mark the UK’s continuing commitment to enduring relationships, mutual prosperity and extensive security cooperation with long-standing and close allies.
Consul General Richard Hyde said: “The aim of this tour is to focus on cities outside the ‘Texas Triangle’ (Houston, Dallas, Austin/San Antonio). This will enable us to engage with a wide range of politically influential and economically important communities and groups. Whilst honouring Her Majesty’s 75th year on the throne and enhancing the environment with tree plantings, we also hope to demonstrate that the UK is a modern and dynamic partner of Texas, a leading centre of culture, music and sport and a world class centre of innovation and science.”
LIST OF LOCATIONS FOR THE GREAT BRITISH TOUR OF TX (w/ bonus trips into AR, LA, OK & NM)
Below is the list of locations where the British Consulate will visit. The tree plantings and pop-up consulates will be casual, indoor receptions featuring British food and drink.
More details for each location will be released ahead of each stop and date, but if you are interested in covering this event, please do let us know as soon as possible so we can include time for an interview with Consul General Hyde:
| Date | Location | Activities |
| Tuesday 6 September | Nacogdoches | Meetings + tree planting |
| Kilgore | Tree planting + pop-up consulate | |
| Wednesday 7 September | Shreveport, LA | Tree planting + pop-up consulate |
| Texarkana, AR | Meetings + tree planting + pop-up consulate | |
| Friday 9 September | Amarillo | Tree planting + pop-up consulate |
| Monday 12 September | Lubbock | Tree planting + pop-up consulate |
| Tuesday 13 September | Waco | Tree planting + pop-up consulate |
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The Queen’s Green Canopy
The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee.”
Everyone from individuals to Scout and Girl guiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates will be encouraged to play their part to enhance the environment by planting trees through to the end of the Jubilee year.
With a focus on planting sustainably, the QGC will encourage planting of trees to create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership and to benefit future generations. More information can be found at: https://queensgreencanopy.org/
The Great British Road trip 2021
The two-week road trip in August 2021 covered 2,500 miles, including driving the entire length of the Texas-Mexico border. As with this year’s trip the team hosted a series of pop-up consulates along the way meeting with local chambers of commerce, regional development organisations, university leaders and members of civil society.
