Moves to breathe life into Oxfordshire's Golden Jubilee celebrations have begun, after early indications suggested festivities would be low key.

No major events are planned in any of Oxford's parks and the city council has yet to receive a single application for an entertainment licence.

The hard-up city council's main contribution is to put back the date of the annual Lord Mayor's Parade through the city to June 3, to coincide with the Jubilee celebrations.

OOMF!, the team behind Oxford's spectacular Millennium celebrations, will be organising open days at some of the city's less-visited historic sites.

Celebrations in Oxfordshire will begin on Wednesday, the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession, with a Golden Jubilee Concert at Christ Church Cathedral at 7.45pm.

District councils are hoping that local communities will organise their own celebrations, and efforts are being made to allay concerns that residents could be left with big bills for closing roads.

District councils are expected to process closure orders free of charge, but residents could still face bills for hiring road signs.

The leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Keith Mitchell, was hopeful this cost might be waived, although he said the legal ramifications would have to be examined.

Tony Payne, the city's principal environmental health officer, said licences would be required for any major public entertainment. "I would have thought we would have received some inquiries by now. We have not received anything at all yet."

But the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Hugo Brunner, refuted any suggestion that the jubilee would pass under a cloud of apathy.

At the official launch of Oxfordshire's celebrations on Tuesday he said: "From what people tell me, there is a great deal of enthusiasm for celebrating the first 50 years of the Queen's reign in Oxfordshire.

"People are seeing it not just as an occasion to honour the Queen, but as an opportunity to foster community spirit and for people of all ages to have some fun, with a very special reason behind it."