News focus: How JEPs are being used to bring Battle to life - Jersey Evening Post
by Lacey Le Boutillier · Jersey Evening PostPosted inNews
News focus: How JEPs are being used to bring Battle to life
by Lacey Le Boutillier 5 August 20265 August 2026
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Volunteers helping to construct this years floats using JEPs to help with Papier-mâché (Pulse Media).
THERE is an old saying that today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chip paper.
In Jersey, however, it might more accurately be referred to as tomorrow’s Battle of Flowers float.
As Battle approaches on 14 and 15 August, parishes, clubs and volunteers are once again on the hunt for as many copies of the Jersey Evening Post as they can find.
The newspaper has long played an unlikely but important role in the Battle, with old editions proving ideal for building and shaping the colourful floats that line the streets each summer.
Many floats rely on the technique of papier-mâché to create hard-textured but lightweight three-dimensional figures or finishes for the floats.
Battle volunteers take old recycled JEPs to make paper strips. Adhesive paste is then used to stick these onto the float’s bodywork.
How are JEPs used?
Alexis Marett, who is part of the St Helier Battle of Flowers team, said that JEPs have been part of the float construction for years – and, he explained, those parts can sometimes be rather weird and wonderful.
“When building the Alice in Wonderland float, we built a pair of the undergarments of the Queen of Hearts, this won us the comedy award,” said Mr Marett.
“It took a couple of weeks to form and we used a lot of JEPs to papier-mâché the shape. We collected a lot of well-read JEPs from our association members to build this object.”
Chanel Biden, from the Battle of Flowers club Biden Family & Friends, added: “80% of our senior float is covered in papier-mâché – we also have smaller items covered too.”
She added that they source the paper through “volunteers, family and friends as well as members of the public donating them to us once they collect a few”.
“I couldn’t tell you how many we’ve used, but definitely over 100… We use the big rolls too.”
Biden Family & Friends shared that it’s taken them four months to build and “approximately 16 hours of papier-mâchéing so far”, with them expecting many more hours to commence ahead of next week’s flagship event.
What do we know about Battle 2026?
This year’s Battle of Flowers Parade will take place on Friday 14 August, with pre-parade entertainment starting at 2pm before the parade commences at 3pm.
The Moonlight Parade will, as usual, follow the following day, with entertainment starting at 7.45pm before the illuminated floats take to the avenue at 8.45pm.
“We’re going to have a parade which emulates what we did in town, but but back to our ancestral home, where we started in 1902,” said Martyn Maguire, chair of the Battle of Flowers Association.
“It’s going to be an exciting parade. It’s going to be the same length as it was, or used to be, just in one direction.”
Like last year, the 2026 Battle of Flowers will be free for Islanders to attend, having previously been a ticketed event.
Mr Maguire added: “For a family of five, it would cost them over £100 to come to Battle. We realised that was a significant barrier, especially for locals struggling in this cost-of-living climate.”
Additionally, this year there will be no seating during the parade for the public; instead, the Battle of Flowers Association is encouraging Islanders to bring their own rugs, chairs, or seats into the arena.
From the return of The Dolphin Marching Band to the fresh faces of the Jersey Lilies, there will be plenty of entertainment on offer during the event, on top of the hand-crafted and decorated floats.
“From the top end of Lower Park all the way up to La Rue du Galet, we’ll have some static music and characters in place for the people to look at and listen to,” Mr Maguire said. “We’re also going to have some pre-parade entertainment actually on the arena moving up and down.”
“At the end of [the Moonlight Parade], at quarter to 11, there will be a full fireworks display in the bay where we’ve got a barge at sea because we’ve got a high tide and we’ll be firing fireworks off the barge.”
With Battle day a little over a week away, Mr Maguire is appealing for “any help we can get from businesses and individuals, philanthropists”.
He added: “It’s always publicised as an island event, but in reality, it’s an event put on by volunteers for the Island. And nobody gets paid for their positions.
“Our appeal is to ask for people to come forward and volunteer to be a marshal in Battle of Flowers, and they can just drop us an e-mail at volunteer@battle.je or flowers@battle.je.
“Also, an appeal for donations. We’ve got a donation site on our Battle webpage, and we’re also going to have QR codes and some machines in the arena because it’s free entry this year.”
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