As the British nation prepares itself for only its second Golden Jubilee celebration in two centuries, one thing is certain – this will be a weekend to remember for a long time to come. In addition to the millions of people in the UK and around the globe celebrating the monarch’s 50 years on the throne there are some 20,000 entertainers and participants signed up to take part in the official activities, including luminaries from the worlds of classical music and pop.
Festivities kick off on Saturday evening and come to a close on Tuesday evening, June 4. The final day’s parade alone promises to be one of the most spectacular sights ever seen on the streets of the capital. Representatives from 54 Commonwealth countries will take to the Mall to create a carnival-style procession aimed at capturing the diversity of the various nations.
On Saturday evening a concert of classical music is to be held in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, featuring such renowned figures as Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Russian conductor Mstilav Rostropovich. The following day, Sunday – the actual anniversary of the Queen’s coronation in 1953 – will be a day of reflection, focusing on Jubilee Church services and church bell-ringing across the UK and Commonwealth, where the Queen is head of state in some 15 countries.
Members of the Royal Family are due to attend church services around the country, while the monarch will attend a special service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, where her younger sister, Princess Margaret, and the Queen Mother were interred earlier this year. The Prince of Wales will attend church in Swansea, along with his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
On Monday - like Tuesday, a public holiday - the more public festivities will get underway. As street parties kick off around the nation at lunchtime, the Queen will launch a nationwide sing-along of The Beatles’ hit All You Need Is Love to coincide with the broadcast of the BBC programme Music Live. Throughout the day there will be a series of music festivals in over 200 towns and cities across the land.
On Monday evening, a pop concert will take place in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, headlined by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John, and featuring such diverse names as Puerto Rican pop star Ricky Martin, Tom Jones, Eric Clapton and Dame Shirley Bassey and Ozzy Osborne. The event will be broadcast live on special giant screens erected in major cities around the country as well as on terrestrial TV.
Bringing the concert to a close will be a spectacular Son et Lumiere firework display, accompanied by music and an impressive light show projected onto the facade of Buckingham Palace. Simultaneously, in a re-enaction of events at the last Golden Jubilee – that of Queen Victoria in 1887 – a chain of beacons and bonfires will be lit across the UK from Lands End in the south to John O’Groats in the north, and from Holyhead in the west to Great Yarmouth in the east. Other beacons will be ignited inside the Arctic Circle, Antarctica and in Commonwealth countries as a climax to the penultimate day’s festivities.
Tuesday, the final day of the celebrations, will be marked with all the pomp and circumstance associated with royal celebrations. The day begins with a state procession from the Palace to St Paul’s Cathedral, where a service of thanksgiving will be celebrated. Over 1,000 musicians, playing from two large stages opposite the Queen Victoria Memorial, will accompany the Queen and Prince Philip as they make their way down The Mall in the gold Coronation Coach.
On Tuesday afternoon there will be a series of processions including one of people who have served Britain during Queen Elizabeth’s 50-year reign. Further highlights include 2,500 representatives of Notting Hill Carnival leading a pageant down the Mall. The procession will include the largest gospel choir ever formed – comprising some 5,000 singers – to bring the last day’s celebrations to a high point of color and energy. For the grand finale, as the Queen and Prince Philip appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at 5.40 pm, there will be a flypast of Concorde and the RAF to close the celebrations.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Former Beatle Paul McCartney (above) will headline Monday's Golden Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace alongside Elton John. One of the legendary band's songs is also due to play a part in the day's celebrations, with the Queen leading a nationwide sing-a-long of All You Need Is Love in the BBC broadcast Music Live
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Opera diva Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will be among the international artists appearing in a classical music concert taking place in the grounds of the Palace on Saturday evening
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Elton John (above) and Paul McCartney will headline a diverse line-up of stars at Monday's pop gig at Buckingham Palace. Also signed up to appear are Tom Jones, Eric Clapton, Shirley Bassey and Ozzy Osborne
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Hot Latin star Ricky Martin will also be taking to the stage for the Palace gig
