The celebrations for King Charles' coronation are not over and excitement is building ahead of the concert taking place on Sunday evening.
The spectacle will take place on the East Lawn at Windsor Castle and fans can look forward to seeing some big names in music taking to the stage including pop star Katy Perry and legendary singer-songwriter Lionel Richie. There also expected to be a surprise speech by Prince William, as teased in a video shared to the Prince of Wales' social media earlier today.
Viewers can also expect to see what is sure to be some moving performances from a 300-person strong choir – led by choirmaster and TV regular, Gareth Malone. Want to know more about the musician and television personality ahead of the concert? Here's what we know.
Who is Gareth Malone?
Gareth Malone OBE, 47, is a choirmaster who was born in London. He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of East Anglia and Freedom of the City of London in 2010.
He first appeared on TV in the three-part BAFTA award-winning series The Choir for BBC, tackling the task of teaching choral singing to people who don't have much singing experience. After its first episode aired in 2006, Gareth starred in three more series for the BBC; The Choir: Boys Don't Sing, The Choir: Unsung Town, and one of his most famous projects, The Choir: Military Wives.
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© SARAH LOUISE BENNETT/BBC
Speaking of his love of singing, Gareth previously told the BBC: "At primary school there was a choir of older children that I looked up to and wanted to emulate. I suppose that's where the interest started. I did all the usual primary school singing activities, Christmas carols and big singalongs... I think I liked it more than most of the other children! My second school had a great little singing group and I think that cemented my sense that singing was something fun."
Apart from The Choir, Gareth has taken part in a number of singing reality TV series. He appeared on BBC's Pitch Battle as a judge back in 2017, which was inspired by the 2012 film, Pitch Perfect. He also fronted the American version of The Choir - It Takes A Choir - back in 2013. In 2011, Gareth tried his hand at kids TV, presenting two seasons of The Big Performance on CBBC in 2011 and 2012.
Is Gareth Malone married and does he have children?
Gareth is married to English teacher Becky Malone. They live in North London. Gareth and Becky share two children: a daughter called Esther, who was born in 2010 and a son, Gilbert, born in 2013.
What is Gareth Malone's role at the coronation concert?
Gareth Malone was tasked with bringing together a huge choir for the coronation concert. The choirmaster set out on a journey up and down the country to group a 300-voice strong choir made up of singers from all different backgrounds to put on the performance of a lifetime.
The ensemble is made up of refugee choirs, NHS choirs and choirs from other backgrounds like the LGBTQ+ community, the deaf community and more. Gareth had the very important role of bringing everyone together and sounding pitch-perfect for the gig, and the huge job was documented for a BBC programme which is available to watch on the iPlayer, titled Sing for the King: The Search for the Coronation Choir.
What has Gareth Malone said about the coronation concert?
Gareth has been candid about how "stressful" the task to bring the huge choir together has been in recent times. Appearing on ITV's Loose Women last Friday, he told the panel how preparations were "down to the wire."
"It's been very sweaty because until about three weeks ago we didn't have the song chosen," he began, adding: "We didn't have anything arranged, it's been very close to the wire. And because it's 300 people from all across the country, we've got Northern Ireland, Scotland, all parts of the UK, you can't bring them together. So I didn't hear anyone sing until last Saturday." We're sure it'll be magnificent on the night.
© Dave J HoganWhat time is the coronation concert and how can I watch?
The government website states that the coronation concert will begin at 8pm on Sunday 7 May. The evening's event will be taking part in the grounds of Windsor Castle in front of a crowd of 20,000 members of the public and invited guests and broadcast across BBC television and radio stations. Meanwhile, millions more will be tuning in at home.
© WPA PoolTake That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie are among the musical stars who will perform at the Coronation Concert to celebrate the crowning of the King and Queen Consort. Meanwhile, Italian opera singer, Andrea Bocelli and Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, and singer-songwriter Zak Abel, will also perform. The concert will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Who else is performing at the coronation concert?
It has also been revealed that Tom Cruise will be making an appearance, as will beloved children's character Winnie the Pooh, through some pre-filmed segments. One of these, a video sharing little-known facts about the newly crowned King and Queen, will also feature facts delivered by Dame Joan Collins, Sir Tom Jones, Bear Grylls and former Strictly star Oti Mabuse.
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