Londoners bury tradition to modernise their funeral services
Londoners are abandoning tradition to give their loved ones more unique send-offs as religious funeral services appear to be dying off, according to new research.
Co-op Funeralcare said it is seeing a rise in funerals which feature the deceased’s beloved pets, decorating coffins in bright colours and even hosting funerals at the zoo or on a bus.
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Just 10 per cent of Londoners would choose a traditional religious service now, according to a Yougov survey of 4,000 adults in the capital, commissioned by Co-op Funeralcare.
Meanwhile people are now more open to unique and personalised aspects in comparison to five years ago, Co-op Funeralcare said, after conducting 500,000 funerals in the last five years.
As a result, funerals in the UK are becoming increasingly quirky.
Co-op funeral directors said 15 per cent of them have been asked to arrange superhero-themed funerals and 48 per cent have sourced unique hearses for the occasion, ranging from an Only Fools and Horses-themed hearse to canal boats and even milk floats.
Offbeat requests have become so popular that the firm has added one multi-coloured rainbow hearse and a floral hearse scattered with poppies to their fleet.
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Samantha Tyrer, funeral director at Croydon’s Co-op Funeralcare, said: “Whilst 16.5m of us still feel uncomfortable talking about death, we’re clear on what we want, and in the majority of cases, it’s no longer a traditional funeral service.
“More so now than ever before, we’re seeing requests for wonderfully personalised ceremonies, whether that be on the 18th hole of a golf club, or having a pet dog present on the day.”
These are Co-op’s top 10 most popular requests for unique funeral locations:
| 1 | At a zoo |
| 2 | On a bus |
| 3 | At a McDonald’s Drive-Thru |
| 4 | Beside a snooker table, with the coffin resting on the top |
| 5 | Next to the 18th hole on a golf course |
| 6 | Inside a cafe |
| 7 | Cattle auction house |
| 8 | Sports clubs such as Kettering Town FC, Glossop Cricket Club and Notts County FC |
| 9 | Next to a busy bypass |
| 10 | Inside a teepee |
Main image credit: Co-op Funeralcare