LONDON (CU)_In less than two weeks, Queen Elizabeth will be celebrating her 70th anniversary of taking the throne. A series of events are scheduled for the four-day weekend, including a traditional Trooping the Colour parade, a Service of Thanksgiving and a concert at Buckingham Palace.
Rock band Queen will open the concert on 4 June, which will perform with new front-man Adam Lambert. The three-stage mini festival will also include performances by Sir Elton John, Alicia Keys and Andrea Bocelli.
The Platinum Party comes 20 years after the band’s lead guitarist Brian May performed God Save the Queen from the roof of Buckingham Palace at the monarch’s golden jubilee celebrations. “Twenty years after playing the Queen’s glorious Golden Jubilee we’re very happy to be invited again,” May said. “Then there was a moment when I wondered… after Buckingham Palace roof where can you go? Well… you will see!”
The concert, which will last around two-and-a-half hours, is expected to be attended by a crowd of 22,000, with 10,000 tickets allocated for the general public and another 7,500 tickets for members of the armed forces, key workers, charity workers and volunteers. Non-musicians like Sir David Attenborough, David Beckham, Dame Julie Andrews, the Royal Ballet, Emma Raducanu and Paralympian swimmer Ellie Simmonds are also expected to make appearances at the event.
Dance troupe Diversity will also perform at the concert, while Sir Elton John will provide a pre-recorded act. The evening will be rounded off by American singer and entertainer Diana Ross, in her first live UK concert in 15 years. “Her Majesty has and continues to be such an incredible inspiration to so many across the world and I was absolutely delighted to receive an invitation to perform on such a momentous and historic occasion,” she said.
