Whenever there's a big national event that brings the country

Ed Davey, with eyes upon the spirit of nations, declared: “Whenever there’s a big national event that brings the country together — whether it’s the Olympics, a royal wedding or the ‘Bake Off’ final — there are inevitably a few contrarian voices speaking out against it.” In these words lies the dual truth of unity and dissent: that whenever a people gather in common joy, there will always be those who resist, question, or cry out in opposition. For human society is never of one mind, and even in moments of celebration, discord will find its voice.

The ancients, too, saw this pattern unfold. At the great Olympic Games of Greece, where cities laid down their arms to honor the gods through sport, there were always poets and cynics who scorned the games as vanity and waste. At royal weddings, when dynasties joined and nations rejoiced, there were whispers of envy, discontent, and grievance. Thus Davey’s words remind us that the light of unity always casts shadows, and that the contrarian voices are as eternal as the festivals themselves.

History offers us the story of Queen Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert in 1840. The streets of London overflowed with cheering crowds, flowers, and banners — yet amid the jubilation, there were those who grumbled at the expense, mocked the pageantry, or resented the monarchy’s privilege. Just as Davey describes, the royal wedding united the masses in joy while also stirring the contrarians who could not share in the vision.

Yet these contrarian voices, though unsettling, also serve a purpose. For they remind us that unity must be examined, that collective joy must not blind a people to injustice, and that harmony is strongest when it withstands dissent. The chorus of a nation is not complete without its critics, for even in the face of celebration, truth may dwell in opposition.

Let the generations remember: a national event is not weakened by dissent but proven by it. To host the Olympics, to celebrate a royal wedding, to gather even around simple contests of baking — these are the threads that weave identity and belonging. And though the contrarian voices may rise, they cannot silence the deeper truth: that a people united in joy, even for a moment, shines brighter than the discord that seeks to divide them.