The Royal Wedding: Where Can You Watch It?

Unless you're a hardcore anti-monarchist waiting for the ravens to escape the Tower of London, you'll probably have at least a passing interest in Friday's royal wedding. First off, if you're planning to watch William and Kate tie the knot on the big screens at the British Embassy's garden party, you'll need an invitation. Don't even bother without one (that goes for us Brits as much as anyone).

There's also talk that the wedding will be broadcast on Chinese TV, although my colleague was unable to track down information about which station, if any, will be broadcasting. Luckily, a few Beijing bars will have live TV coverage of the wedding of the year (or in Flamme's case, at least making a one-off cocktail to mark the occasion). Surprisingly enough, the traditionally royal-suspicious Irish are leading the way, with Paddy O'Shea's, The Green Cap and The Stumble Inn all offering live screenings and other fun besides.

Coverage will begin from around 3pm Beijing time, but things really get underway with the procession just after 5pm. Here's what's going on around town:

Bang! Bang! Pizza
Bang! Bang! should have the ceremony live on TV, but boss Robin Howlett tells us he's sorting out a few satellite issues to make sure he can broadcast the wedding with English commentary. Call ahead to confirm what's happening. Bang! Bang! has also created a special royal Wedding pizza, featuring heart shapes made from various toppings, and 10-kuai beers throughout the ceremony.

Flamme
Flamme won't be screening the wedding, but Paul Mathew has created a special "Royal Bride" cocktail to salute the happy couple. Or perhaps just the blushing bride. This being the British royal family, there's plenty of gin going into the "Royal Bride," along with lime juice, orange juice, Grand Marnier, orange bitters and sparkling wine. The cocktail costs RMB 50, or RMB 25 during happy hour.

Frank's Place/Johnny Duck's
Owner John Harkness tells us he didn't expect so many people to be interested in the wedding, but has got his act together with the BBC coverage on one big screen and CNN coverage on a second screen. There'll be special promotional prices on all British and Irish pints, as well as discounts on pies and fish and chips.

The Green Cap
The Green Cap will have the wedding live on the satellite feed, with happy hour running 3-8pm. Owner Pat Walsh tells us there'll be "silly prizes to be won," but didn't give away any details. More terrifyingly, Pat also tells us "I'll be dressed as Her Majesty herself and as drunk as her husband.” Oh, Shunyi.

Paddy O'Shea's
Flipping conventional wisdom on its head, Paddy’s is going all jolly hockey sticks for the royal nuptials, with live satellite coverage of the wedding on the big screen and special deals on Pimm's and sparkling wine.

The Stumble Inn
Along with live satellite coverage of the day's events, The Stumble Inn gets the Union Jack bunting out for "a three-course meal fit for a king (or prince)." RMB 198 per person gets you a free Pimm’s cocktail or a cup of tea to wash down your three courses of potted shrimp, toad in the hole with "bubble and squeak" (that's potato and vegetables mashed together) and sherry trifle. Since there's no Queen or Prince tribute act doing the rounds in Beijing, the Beijing Beatles step in to provide live music from 8pm.

While a few bar owners have told us that they've had quite a few calls from locals asking if the wedding will be televised, the suggestion that Beijing is in the midst of some "royal wedding fever" is a bit hysterical. A quick survey of opinion among the Beijinger's Chinese staff revealed our colleagues to be "interested" by about a 60-40 margin, but nobody's getting hugely excited.

Why are our colleagues interested? Well, in their own words ...
"They've got lovely accents"
"Royality are like celebrities - people see it as fun"
"Most people want to know how much the wedding dress is worth"
"when I was in primary school, one of my friends had a crush on William. But he turned out to be bald. Anyway, a "Royal" wedding can always attract attention"
"Most Chinese people have never seen a royal wedding, and important people from all over the world will be there"
"Just another reason to get drunk on Friday"

Others simply couldn't care less (or didn't know anything about any wedding ...)
"It's just a wedding"
"Lots of us are too busy to be interested in a wedding happening in another country"
"Nobody I know seems interested"
"Maybe rich people are interested"
"Tomorrow? Who?"

So that's that then. If you're a Sina Weibo user and can read Chinese, there's a whole Weibo feed devoted to the wedding where you can check in on what China is saying about the future Mr. and Mrs. Windsor.

If you fancy making a boozy day of it, check out the various royal wedding drinking games that have sprung up on the Internet - have a look at this one to get you started. Even better, come up with your own rules and create a Beijing-centric royal wedding drinking game - any suggestions? Leave your comments below.

What should Beijing's message to William and Kate be? Leave your thoughts below - there might just be a prize in it for the best answers.

Photos: weaselzippers.us, www.dezeen.com, Capital FM