Get ready for a right royal celebration
The first television event celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee kicks off tomorrow. RACHAEL POPOW finds out more
GET ready for a historic occasion – Hollywood A-lister Tom Cruise and British TV gardening legend Alan Titchmarsh, together at last.
Oh, and it’s also The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration, one of the first big events marking Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised that the historic occasion (no other British monarch has reached this milestone) has brought together such a starry and, let’s be honest, slightly random list of celebrity contributors, for what is being described as a ‘theatrical arena event’.
Broadcast live from the private grounds of Windsor Castle, ITV promises it will be “a celebratory, star-studded show, complete with show-stopping performances and an epic journey through history, told by some of the most well-renowned and respected names in film and television.”
Phillip Schofield joins news broadcaster Julie Etchingham to host. He says: “Live events are never easy and something of this scale comes with its challenges.
“Presenting all of these different elements live to the nation with thousands of onlookers will be a bit different to sitting in the usual comfort of the This Morning sofa, I must say.”
The logistics are certainly impressive, as it will include 1,300 performers and 500 horses in a show made up of four acts, each overseen by a different event host – Tom, Alan, Damian Lewis and Adjoa Andoh.
The event will
take us from the reign of Elizabeth I to the coronation of Elizabeth II.
Dame Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of our current monarch in The Queen, takes on the role of Elizabeth I, while Omid Djalili has been cast as The Herald, who will introduce the players and whisk viewers through time.
The guests cropping up include Adjoa, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ant and Dec, Joan Collins, Mo Farah, Maureen Lipman, David Jason,
Kelly Holmes, Moira Stuart and Sir Trevor McDonald.
There will also be music, a 75-piece orchestra comprised of Tri-Service personnel and augmented with members of The National Symphony Orchestra, with special performances from Keala Settle, Gregory Porter and Katherine Jenkins.
The Commonwealth and the rest of the world is represented too, with military and equestrian displays from around the globe including Azerbaijan, India, Oman, France, Norway, Switzerland and Trinidad & Tobago.
The BBC also has events lined up for the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend, which begins on Thursday June 2, with, among other things, Trooping the Colour and the lighting of beacons.
There will also be a Service of Thanksgiving on Friday, followed by Party at the Palace on Saturday, bringing together some of Britain’s biggest entertainers for a concert.
Then on Sunday, June 5, there’s the Platinum Pageant, presented by Kirsty Young, Clare Balding, AJ Odudu, Anita Rani, Sophie Morgan, and Anton Du Beke, which will bring together artistic performers, dancers, musicians, military personnel, key workers and volunteers who will unite to tell the story of The Queen’s 70-year reign.
That doesn’t sound totally dissimilar from tomorrow’s spectacular, but can it also boast a special appearance by Tom Cruise?
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration tomorrow, ITV, 8pm