There's a partay about to go down at the palace.
As part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations this weekend, the BBC hosts the Platinum Party at the Palace. Here's the lowdown:
What is Platinum Party at the Palace?
A huge, open-air concert to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee — think along the lines of the Golden Jubilee Concert in 2002, which saw Brian May twanging out God Save The Queen... on Her Majesty's flippin' roof! A real goosebumps moment, that.
There was a similar shindig, organised by Gary Barlow, for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, but most of London's attention was on preparations for the Olympics at the time, so it's not quite so well-remembered. This time round, there's a three-stage set-up — though whether any of those stages are on the roof remains to be seen.
What time is Platinum Party at the Palace?
It's on Saturday 4 June, part of the four-day long Jubilee bank holiday weekend. It begins at 8pm, and is expected to last for two-three hours (given the extensive list of participants — see below — we'd hedge our bets on closer to the three-hour mark).
Where is Platinum Party at the Palace?
Erm... Buckingham Palace. Details are under wraps, no doubt for security reasons, but at similar events in the past, concert goers have been spread out both in the Buckingham Palace garden to the rear of the building, and outside the front of the Palace at the end of The Mall.
Tickets for Platinum Party at the Palace
... have of course all gone, dished out via ballot earlier this year. 22,000 tickets were available, including 7,500 for key workers and members of the Armed Forces. You won't get hold of any on resale sites either, as security is high, and all tickets are allocated to specific named guests, with ID checks at the entrance. Doesn't mean you can't watch the action live though...
How to watch Platinum Party at the Palace
If you're not there in person, tune into BBC One, BBC iPlayer or BBC Radio 2 to watch/hear the concert live. It'll still be available to watch on BBC iPlayer afterwards. Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp host. Coverage begins at 7.30pm, with the concert starting around 8pm.
Live screenings of Platinum Party at the Palace
A large screen is being set up in St James's Park, right in front of Buckingham Palace, for the public to watch the Jubilee events for free. This includes Saturday's concert, as well as the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on Sunday.
Who's performing at Platinum Party at the Palace?
Honestly, it's quite a list — and it's not just musicians. Stars of film, TV and sport are on the line-up, with some appearing in person and others via video-link or pre-recorded segment. They include Sir David Attenborough, Emma Raducanu, David Beckham, Stephen Fry, Dame Julie Andrews, The Royal Ballet, and Ellie Simmonds.
As for musicians... Queen + Adam Lambert open the concert, followed by performances by Alicia Keys, Hans Zimmer, Ella Eyre, Craig David, Mabel, Elbow, George Ezra, Duran Duran, Andrea Bocelli, Mimi Webb, Jax Jones, Celeste, Nile Rodgers, Sigala and Diversity. Sam Ryder performs live, fresh from Eurovision success, and there's a recorded performance from Sir Elton John. Sir Rod Stewart gets a look in too, and Diana Ross brings things to a close (she is, after all, music royalty).
Andrew Lloyd Webber curates a look back at 70 years of musicals, with an appearance from Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda, plus performances by casts of The Phantom Of The Opera, Six, The Lion King and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
That's quite a line-up, and we're promised a few surprises too. Though how they'll top Brian May on a roof, we just don't know.
Find out more on the Platinum Jubilee website. We've also got a guide to the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on Sunday, which you can watch in person, no ticket required.
