FOR months it has been feared that all that's golden will far from glitter. Newspapers have been full of speculation that this year's Golden Jubilee celebrations will fall flat.

Public support today has been compared over and over again to interest in the Silver Jubilee 25 years ago.

Then there were more than 12,000 street parties. But in 1977 nine out of 10 people supported the monarchy and they probably knew a number of their neighbours.

Times have changed. A recent poll showed just five per cent of Britons believe the Jubilee would have the greatest impact on the mood of the nation this year.

Winning the World Cup scored far higher and unfortunately for anyone trying to get people out of their armchairs and joining in community events, England's opening match falls on Sunday June 2 - the second day of the four-day Jubilee weekend.

It has also been claimed that those people who are thinking of organising street parties are being put off by red tape and expense.

Organisers are strongly recommended to take out liability insurance and need to obtain road closure orders, although Minister for Transport John Spellar yesterday urged local authorities to waive charges relating to road closures and many councils have already decided to do so.

Are we apathetic this time around or is the spirit kicking in as the Jubilee weekend draws closer?

Tuesday June 4 will be a Bank Holiday in place of the Spring Bank Holiday that would otherwise fall on May 27. Monday June 3 will be an additional Bank Holiday for the Golden Jubilee.

Chairman of the Queen's Golden Jubilee committee Lord Sterling has rejected accusations that there's little public support for this summer's celebrations.

And the Golden Jubilee Office in London has had 30,000 requests for the street party 'toolkit' and six million hits on the official Golden Jubilee website.

Bournemouth Council has produced its own one-stop information leaflet to help event organisers.

A voluntary organisation called Difference Makers is staging the official celebrations from June 1 to June 4 in the Lower Gardens and Pier Approach area.

The town has also been chosen for a leg of the Queen's Jubilee Baton Relay, which starts at Buckingham Palace on Monday next week - Commonwealth Day.

Leisure development support officer Andrew Emery said he is not aware of anyone contacting the town hall about holding a street party yet, but said there had been lots of calls from people wanting events to take place.

"At this stage the cupboard is slightly bare, but I'm sure it will hot up.

"We will do everything we can to encourage local community groups to put on events around Bournemouth."

Poole Council has had around eight enquiries for street parties, but is hoping that as many people as possible will descend on Poole Park on June 3, where one area is being put aside for families, and indeed neighbours, to picnic together (booking is necessary for groups of 15 or more).

The rest of the park will be packed with attractions including live music, art workshops, charity stalls and historic vehicles.

"We've had heaps and heaps of interest and support. It's been great. People are really getting quite excited about it," said Jayne Taylor of leisure services.

Celebratory events in Wimborne include a flower festival, garden party and a day-long event at Redcotts Recreation Ground featuring a themed pageant focusing on each decade of the Queen's 50-year reign, bands and fireworks.

A working party was formed after the Lord Lieutenant wrote to civic heads across the county last summer reminding them about the Jubilee.

"Over autumn we were trying to whip up enthusiasm, which was not really very forthcoming to start with. Then we got letters out to organisations and now things have taken off," said mayor Anthony Oliver. "Last week we had a Golden Jub-ilee meeting, which we hold every three weeks, and had over 30 people there."

He added that a number of street parties were being talked about around the town.

North Dorset District Council has allocated £16,000 to be divided equally among parish councils. The money will be given out as 50 per cent grants to communities holding a party or purchasing a commemorative tree or bench. Applications must be in before the end of April.

There is also a firework display planned in collaboration with Shaftesbury Task Force and a civic church service at Milton Abbey.

Chairman of the council Della Jones said: "North Dorset will, we hope, be celebrating quite a lot.

"I don't think there's any apathy. All the apathy is being generated by newspapers."

A number of events are planned over the summer in the Christchurch area and the council has had several enquiries about street parties.

Public relations officer Julie Ratcliffe thinks interest will pick up as a lot of people haven't started thinking about Jubilee celebrations yet, although applications for road closures need to be in by the middle to the end of April as they take around six weeks to process.

A spokeswoman for Swanage Town Council said there had been no official requests for any street parties in the town.

* It is the responsibility of the people holding the street party to obtain liability insurance, and they should seek advice from their local authority. The amount of insurance is at the discretion of the local authority.

The Golden Jubilee Office said the premium to cover £5million in liability insurance is around £60. For £1million it is between £20 and £30.