The Queen's visit to Floriade next week will be a private, invitation-only affair.
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ACT Government spokesman Jeremy Lasek told The Canberra Times yesterday that concerns about security and crowd control meant it was inviting only 250 to 300 people - mainly Floriade volunteers - to see the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visit the famous flower festival next Thursday.
Floriade officially finishes on Sunday but the fences around Commonwealth Park will remain up and there will be no public access to the Floriade areas of the park from Sunday afternoon until after the royal tour of the site.
Floriade staff will use the three days between Floriade closing and the Queen's visit to spruce up the gardens and rehabilitate some paths which had been eroded in the rain.
Head gardener Andrew Forster, who will be introduced to the Queen, was confident the world's media would still get some spectacular pictures of the monarch amongst the blooms, despite the festival being officially over.
Most of the tulips had reached the end of their life and would be de-headed before the Queen's arrival.
But there would still be plenty of ranunculus, Dutch iris and pansies in full bloom.
The Queen will also be shown the World War II Victory Garden featuring plants and vegetables that evoke backyard gardens from the time.
''It just shows the stature of Floriade around the world that she can come and see an event like this in Canberra, it will put Canberra on the map,'' Mr Forster said.
Mr Lasek defended the decision not to let the general public in to see the Queen in the relatively large expanse of Commonwealth Park, in what is arguably the most public event of the Canberra section of her tour, saying it came down to ''security issues''.
''We're trying as best we can to reassure the Palace the event will be well managed,'' he said.
''They will have an understanding of the number of people that will be there and that it won't be a free-for-all. If there's any risk of losing control, there are security and safety issues, not only for the royal family, but those in attendance.''
Mr Lasek said there might be an ''opportunity outside the gates of Floriade'' to see the Queen, which would probably extend to seeing her car go through the gates.
He said invitations had yet to be sent out but Floriade volunteers would make up the bulk of guests because they were the ''unsung heroes'' of the festival.
Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and Deputy Chief Minister Andrew Barr will accompany the royal couple during the Floriade visit.
Mr Lasek said the publicity for Floriade would be priceless, saying it would provide some of the most striking visuals of the Queen's Australian tour. ''I think there will be some great pictures that will go right across the world,'' he said.
A spokeswoman for the Australian War Memorial said it was advising the public that the best place to catch a glimpse of the Queen when she visited on the morning of Tuesday, October 25, was outside the building as she arrived.
The Queen will also attend morning worship at St John's Anglican Church, Reid, on Sunday, October 23.
Church rector the Revered Paul Black said he wanted the visit to be ''pretty low-key''.
''The request from the Queen has been for a normal service of worship, so that's what we're doing,'' he said.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will arrive in Canberra on October 19 and remain in Australia until October 29. They will also visit Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.
In Perth, the Queen will attend the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
In Canberra, the couple will also visit Parliament House and the Royal Military College, Duntroon.