London and the rest of Great Britain is abuzz this weekend with four days of festivities to mark the the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

In London, the Union Jack is everywhere, adorning everything from pubs to palaces, to celebrate the Queen's 60 years on the throne.

Racegoers watch the racing on Ladies Day during the Epsom Derby festival in Epsom, southern England on Friday.Racegoers watch the racing on Ladies Day during the Epsom Derby festival in Epsom, southern England on Friday. (Olivia Harris/Reuters)

Officials kicked off celebrations Saturday with a 41-gun salute at Horse Guards Parade in central London.

The Queen and Prince Philip then arrived at Epsom Downs to attend the Epsom Derby, one of the year's biggest horse races.

"A Red Arrows parachute team will land (by the winning post) holding a huge flag, and then the Queen will be driven down the course, which is apparently unprecedented, in an open-top Range Rover," CBC's Nahlah Ayed reported from London.

The Queen has a passion for horse racing and is a master breeder of horses. She has never won the Derby with one of her own horses and this year she does not have a horse in the race at all.

The Derby has been run for 233 years.

The Queen ascended to the throne in 1952, but wasn't officially coronated until 1953.

Three days after her coronation, she went to the Derby to watch her horse Aureole race. Aureole came close, but finished in second place.

1,000-boat river flotilla

For another big Jubilee event, boats are lining the Thames, the river that threads through the centre of the city. They'll take part in what's being sold as a spectacular pageant set for Sunday when a 1,000-strong flotilla will take over, with the Queen heading the floating parade in a specially built royal barge.

"This really is a once-in-a-lifetime event," pageant master Adrian Evans said. "It hasn't happened for 350 years. It probably won't happen for another 350 years."

Organizers may be wishing for a bit of magic to ward off the rains that are forecast for Sunday and into Monday.

Other celebrations include a concert Monday in front of Buckingham Palace featuring Elton John and Paul McCartney. Festitivies wrap on Tuesday with a with a religious service, a procession through the streets of London and the royal family's appearance on the palace balcony.