Ed Sheeran is to top a star-studded bill of “national treasures” for a spectacular “People’s Pageant” to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June.
Organisers on Tuesday revealed details of the London showpiece event to mark the monarch’s unprecedented 70 years on the throne, to be watched by an estimated global audience of one billion people.
The Pageant comes at the end of four days of more than 800 events over two Bank Holidays and the weekend. They include Trooping the Colour and a flypast on Thursday June 2, a Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Catherdal on Friday June 3, and a Platinum Party at the Palace on Saturday June 4.
The “Shape of You” singer will perform at what will be an emotional finale outside Buckingham Palace on the Sunday of the long Bank Holiday weekend.
A roll-call of the the most popular names in British culture, ranging from Sir Cliff Richard to Gary Lineker, and Bill Bailey to Basil Brush will also provide entertainment during the day.
The Platinum Jubilee Pageant will have a huge cast of 10,000 made up of more than 6,000 volunteers, 2,750 military personnel, key workers and 2,500 members of the general public, as well as the performers.
Viewers around the world will watch a live television broadcast on the day while hundreds of thousands are expected to line The Mall and surrounding streets to witness the performance live.
Ed Sheeran, 31, one of the world’s most successful recording artists, said: “I am looking forward to performing at The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant in June.
The singer who was awarded an MBE in 2017, added: “I’m proud to be part of the celebration and it’s going to be a great opportunity to bring everyone together.”
The Pageant, the biggest festival of “Britishness” since the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics a decade ago, will build to a finale around the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace on 5th June.
It will also bring to life iconic moments from The Queen’s reign such as her wedding and Coronation as well as highlighting the seismic changes in society over the past 70 years in a Four Act performance.
It will include giant hot air balloons, a colossal oak tree flanked with maypole dancers, a huge wedding cake ‘baked’ by acrobats, a towering dragon, three-story high figures and beasts, vibrant moving sculptures and flocks of dancers and acrobats representing all corners of the Commonwealth.
The national anthem ‘God Save the Queen’ will be sung by a gospel choir with the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines.
People from all over the UK and across the Commonwealth have been involved in creating the Pageant. They include Scottish bagpipers, school children from Birmingham, creatives from Cardiff, performers from Belfast, dancers from Bristol, students from Coventry, to puppeteers on the Isle of Wight, to carnival clubs in Somerset.
Another key goal of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant is to leave a lasting legacy of hope for the future of the UK’s young people.
Organisers are working with schools and youth organisations to build skills and hope for the future. These include The Ideas Foundation, Engineering Development Trust, The George Dixon Academy, Steppaz, E14 Dance School, schools involved in The River of Hope, Queen’s Park Community School in Brent, House of Wings, Marcus Rashford’s youth project, Wardle Academy brass band and many more.
The four acts of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant
Act I: FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY
The bells of Westminster Abbey will peel as they did on Coronation Day to mark the beginning of the Pageant. This symbolic moment will be followed by a military parade. It will be one of the largest military spectacles in modern history with around 1,750 individuals and 200 horses, and all set to the sounds of bands from across all three services.
Act II: THE TIME OF OUR LIVES
This section will showcase the seven decades of The Queen’s extraordinary reign with a cast of 2,500 volunteers and members of the public celebrating how British and Commonwealth creativity and culture has evolved from 1952 to 2022.
A 1.5 km long “river of time” will lead spectators on an epic journey highlighting changing tastes in popular music, fashion and all the trends, fads and crazes that have defined those momentous years.
In addition to the live cast, 500 vintage cars and motorbikes and bicycles will appear including some ‘special guest vehicles’ such as Daleks and Sinclair C5s to a fleet of iconic cars from James Bond movies dating back to the 1960s.
Seven open-topped double decker buses will be styled and wrapped in graphics depicting the icons, trends, personalities and news of each decade. These buses will be like a set of scrapbooks curated to capture the zeitgeist of the age.
The Time of Our Lives will also feature 150 ‘national treasures’ including TV personalities, musicians, chefs, sportspeople, designer, and artists who have helped shape British culture of the last 70 years. These include Sir Cliff Richard, Heston Blumenthal, Rosie Jones, Gok Wan, Kadeena Cox, Alan Titchmarsh, James Martin, Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Jeremy Irons, Gary Lineker, Bill Bailey and childhood favourites such as Basil Brush.
ACT III: LET’S CELEBRATE
Twelve chapters will tell the story of The Queen’s remarkable life and personal interests. It will involve around 2,500 people drawn from communities across the UK.
It recalls key events such as her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947 and Coronation in 1953 as well as her commitment to the Commonwealth, love of nature, respect for all faiths, recognition of our key workers and those who have devoted their lives to charity. Horses and corgis will also play a special role in this section of the Pageant, as they have throughout Her Majesty’s lifetime.
ACT IV: The FINALE: HAPPY AND GLORIOUS
Full details of the final section of the Pageant have yet to be revealed but it will build up to a climax around the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace when members of the viewing public will be invited to become part of the performance. It is likely to look to the future as well as celebrate the past.
Adrian Evans, Pageant Master of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant said: “A Platinum Jubilee is unique. In all our history there has never been an opportunity to celebrate a seventy year reign. We aim to make this a most magnificent occasion, one in which the nation can show its affection and appreciation to the Monarch. The Platinum Pageant is then, a ‘thank you’ to The Queen, a thank you from us all.”
David Zolkwer, Show Director, The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant said: “This is very much a ‘People’s Pageant’ – it’s by and from the people. It’s about ordinary people coming together from far and wide to do extraordinary things; real people with delightful, authentic stories to tell; taking centre stage in a spectacular performance filled with wonder, warmth, wit and so much humanity. It will be all about how, through the recollections and stories and experiences we share we can see how we are all connected – through time; to each other; and to The Queen.”
The Platinum Jubilee Pageant is a procession that will tell the story of The Queen’s 70-year reign in four acts. Organisers say it will “tell the story of The Queen’s 70-year reign and our transforming society”.
They have commissioned artists from all over the UK and the Commonwealth “to interpret different chapters of this narrative in their own unique way, placing those communities and the work they create centre stage, in a spectacular unfolding story filled with wonder, warmth, wit and wow-factor.”
