The stars are out to shine as they pay a fitting tribute
Over the last few weeks, most of us will have wore our poppy with pride. But although we all know why we wear them – to commemorate their servicemen and women killed in all conflicts since 1914 – not many know the real origins of the poppy appeal.
During the First World War much of the fighting took place in western Europe, and the previously beautiful countryside was blasted, bombed and fought over, again and again.
The landscape swiftly turned to bleak fields of mud where little or nothing could grow. However, after the conflict, legend has it that the first glimmer of colour sprouting up in these barren lands were bright red poppies, and ever since then the flower has been considered a symbol of hope for all those sacrificing their lives in conflicts around the world.
The Poppy Appeal itself was inspired by First World War poem In Flanders Fields ("In Flanders fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below.")
The image of the poppy was first adopted by the American Legion to commemorate US soldiers killed in the Great War, and they were then joined by military veterans' groups in parts of the former British Empire.
Today, they are most common in the UK and Canada, and in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday, and over here they are distributed by The Royal British Legion in return for donations to their Poppy Appeal, which supports all current and former British military personnel.
During this time, it is an unwritten rule that all public figures and those appearing on TV must wear them.
Tonight, some of the biggest names in music will be wearing their poppies at the Royal Albert Hall as they perform in front Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the royal family to poignantly mark the occasion.
Huw Edwards guides us through Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance 2015 (Saturday, BBC1, 9pm), as veteran rocker Rod Stewart (who also performed in this event back in 2012), singer-songwriter Pixie Lott, tenor Andrea Bocelli and American jazz vocalist Gregory Porter perform alongside the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, the Queen's Colour Squadron, the Band of HM Royal Marines and the Band and Pipes of the Brigade of Gurkhas.
At the end of the evening there will also be the traditional twominute silence.