Seventieth birthday parties are often lunches or afternoon dos, sometimes in a hotel, a golf club or a favourite restaurant. The guests usually span several generations, from old school friends to teenage grandchildren. The speech can be warm and funny, with plenty of looking back, because there is a lot of life to look back on.
The birthday speech guide covers the basic structure. This page covers what is different about a 70th, and how to approach it if you are speaking as a friend.
What 70 usually looks like
Most people turning 70 have been retired for a few years and have settled into a new routine. Many are busy grandparents, doing school runs and holiday childcare. Others have filled their time with volunteering, a choir, bowls, walking groups, the allotment or travel they couldn't manage while they were working. Plenty of them say they don't know how they ever had time for a job.
A good 70th speech gives a sense of the whole life and then spends time on what they are like now. Mention what they are doing these days, because it matters to them and it shows the younger guests a side of them they may not have seen.
Growing up in the 1950s and 60s
Someone turning 70 in 2026 was born in 1956 and grew up in the 1960s. They were at primary school when the Beatles first appeared, and teenagers in the early 70s, when decimal money arrived. Many left school at fifteen or sixteen and went straight into work, an apprenticeship or a secretarial course.
Details from those years are good material. Think about the dances they went to, the first job and what it paid, the first car, how they met their partner and where they went on holiday before package trips abroad became common. Their brothers and sisters, or friends from those days, will remember things the family has never heard.
If you are speaking as an old friend
A friend who goes back to school days has something the family can't offer: you knew them before they had a family of their own. That makes you the right person to talk about the early years. A few things to keep in mind:
- Talk to their partner and children before you write, and ask if there is anything they would like included or left out.
- Choose stories that show what they were like, and that the whole family will enjoy hearing.
- Leave out old boyfriends or girlfriends, however funny the story, especially with their partner sitting there.
- Say something about their family near the end, as they will be listening closely.
Tips for a 70th speech
- Face the room and speak clearly. If there is a microphone, use it, so people at the back can hear.
- Welcome older relatives by name, and anyone who has travelled a long way.
- Tease them about the fashions of the 70s or the car they drove. Leave out anything about health, memory or slowing down.
- If their partner has died, mention them with warmth. A line such as "Dad would have loved to see this" is often enough.
- For a lunchtime party, keep the speech to three minutes or so, and do it before people start drifting off.
Example 70th birthday speech (about 3 minutes)
This example is from Val for her friend Marion's 70th, at a Sunday lunch in a hotel in Salisbury. They have been friends since primary school, and Marion's husband, children and grandchildren are all there.
Hello, everyone. I'm Val, and I've been Marion's friend for sixty-five years. Roger asked me to say a few words, I think because I'm the only person here who knew her before she was sensible.
Thank you all for coming, and thank you to Roger, Helen and Graeme for organising today. Marion's sister Maureen has come down from Northallerton, and I know that means a lot to her.
Marion and I met on our first day at St Mark's Infants in 1961. She was wearing a hand-knitted cardigan with buttons shaped like ladybirds, and she told me she was going to be a ballerina. I told her I was going to marry Cliff Richard. Neither of us quite managed it.
At fifteen we both got Saturday jobs at Woolworths in town. Marion was on the pick and mix, and she was very strict about it. If a lad came in and tried to take a sample, she'd give him a look that sent him straight back out on to the street. That same look kept a school full of children in order for twenty-eight years, when she was the secretary at the primary school in Harnham.
In 1975 we went on our first holiday on our own, to a caravan in Weymouth. It rained every single day. We played rummy for a week and ate chips in the rain on the seafront, and we still talk about it as one of the best holidays we ever had.
Three years later I was her bridesmaid when she married Roger at St Thomas's. I've been telling him ever since that he did very well out of that day, and to his credit, he has never once disagreed.
Five years ago, Marion took up painting. Some of you will have seen her watercolour of the cathedral from the water meadows, which is now hanging in the hall at home. She says it's nothing special. I think Constable would have been worried.
Marion, you've been my friend through every part of my life, and I don't know what I'd have done without you. You are still the first person I ring with good news. Your grandchildren adore you, and so do we.
So would you all please raise your glasses. To Marion. Happy seventieth.
Why it works: Val uses her place as an old friend to tell stories nobody else could, from the first day at school to a wet week in Weymouth. She thanks the family who organised it, and the gentle humour is about the two of them, which makes it fond.
Other milestone birthdays
If you are speaking about a parent, the 60th birthday speech page has an example from a son. For a bigger family party with grandchildren, see the 80th birthday speech guide. If Marion and Roger were also celebrating fifty years of marriage, the golden wedding speech page would help.
Common questions
Can a friend give the speech at a 70th?
Yes. An old friend is often the best person to talk about the early years, and some families would rather listen than speak. Check with the partner or children first so you know what they would like said, and whether they plan to speak too.
What was happening when people turning 70 in 2026 were growing up?
They were born in 1956, grew up in the 1960s and were teenagers in the early 1970s. Decimal money arrived when they were about fifteen, and many left school at fifteen or sixteen to start work.
How long should a 70th birthday speech be?
About three minutes is right for most parties, which is around 390 words. If there is a sit-down lunch and you are the only speaker, four or five minutes is fine.