Does the Queen still like to dance? That’s the question asked by one of the stars who will perform outside Buckingham Palace in front of 10,000 people this evening.
Not Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney or Kylie Minogue, but Lydia Inzikuru, from the African Children’s Choir. The 12-year-old, from Uganda, has been chosen to sing a solo by Gary Barlow, who is directing the Diamond Jubilee concert.
Lydia, who is visting the UK for the first time and will open the track Sing, told The Times: “I am nervous, but I think it will be great singing for lots of people. I think it’s amazing that the Queen is still Queen even though she is so old and she became Queen when she was so young.” Asked how she imagined the Queen might dance, she and her friend Stella did a little waltz. If today’s line-up does not get a royal foot tapping at least, nothing will.
From 7.30pm, singers will include Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Tom Jones, Robbie Williams, Annie Lennox, Stevie Wonder and Jessie J, who will duet with Will.i.am. The Military Wives Choir will sing the national anthem.
Along with the BBC orchestra, two opera singers, Alfie Boe, a British tenor, and Renée Fleming, an American soprano, will offset the pop.
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Hosted by comedians including Lenny Henry, the concert will finish with Madness, the 1980s band, belting out tunes from the Palace roof. They are expected to sing the hit Our House, which will take on a cheeky significance given the location.
Mr Barlow has spoken of the uniqueness of the setting for most of the acts: a stage set up around the Queen Victoria Memorial, outside the gates of the Palace, rather than in the gardens.
He said: “The Queen gave me pretty much a free rein. She loved the idea . . . she thought it was ambitious. She didn’t know if we’d get permission — it’s public, not in the grounds — so we had to go to the council and police.”
While 10,000 free tickets have been issued, tens of thousands more people will watch it on big screens in surrounding parks. The worldwide audience is expected to be in the tens of millions.
At the end of the concert, the Royal Family will appear on stage. At about 10.30pm, the Queen will light the national jubilee beacon, the last in a chain of more than 4,000 across the Commonwealth. The target had been 2,012, but it was surpassed months ago.