At the culmination of four days of events in June to honor Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne, singer Ed Sheeran and more than 100 “national treasures” will perform in a “People’s pageant” with 10,000 other performers.
In February, Elizabeth, 96, became the first queen in British history to reign for seven decades, and there will be celebrations throughout two public holidays and a weekend in early June to mark the occasion.
A Thanksgiving Service, a live performance outside Buckingham Palace, and a military parade will be among the events planned across the country.
On June 5, the Platinum Jubilee Pageant will take place, with military bands, singers, dancers, and well-known individuals from sport, film, theatre, and music tracing a 3-kilometer (1.9-mile) route through central London, similar to that walked by the queen on her coronation day in 1953.
The Pageant Master, Adrian Evans, remarked, “We’re working hard to make her Platinum Jubilee celebrations relevant to our times, and the most stunning of them all.”
The event, which will be aired live and aims to pay respect to major moments throughout the queen’s reign, is expected to draw one billion people from around the world.
The pageant will include seven open-top buses, each reflecting a different decade and featuring notable personalities on board, as well as entertainers and artists from around the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and a fleet of antique cars, including some seen in James Bond films.
Crowds will gather along the Mall, the wide boulevard leading to Buckingham Palace, where Ed Sheeran will be joined by “national treasures” – figures from British culture – for the big finale.
The queen‘s participation has yet to be confirmed, as she has been forced to cancel a number of engagements in recent months due to mobility issues.
“We’re in discussions with the royal household about including all members of the royal family,” Rosanna Machado, the pageant’s chief executive, said. The pageant will cost almost 15 million pounds ($19.1 million) to perform, with funding provided by large corporations and people.
