Elton John, Paul McCartney among stars to perform at big bash for Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
Elton Elton John: 'going to be fun.'
Ronald Reyes/The Associated Press
LONDON Some of the world’s biggest pop stars will perform in front of Buckingham Palace on June 4 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, palace officials said Tuesday.
The lineup will include singers Elton John and Shirley Bassey, former Beatle Paul McCartney, and popular boy band JLS. Longtime favourites Cliff Richard and Tom Jones will also perform.
Concert organizers said that many more stars, including some from America and Australia, will also be on the bill, with details to be released in the coming months.
“It’s going to be fun,” Elton John said in a video shown to reporters at Buckingham Palace.
The event is a centrepiece in the queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, which have already kicked off to mark her 60 years on the throne.
It follows a raucous Golden Jubilee concert in 2002 that featured a rendition of God Save the Queen by Queen guitarist Brian May performed in the open air on the palace roof.
Take That star Gary Barlow, charged with organizing the gala event, said he hopes as many as half a million people are able to see the concert from the public areas in front of the palace. It will also be broadcast on television and radio.
“The whole world will be watching,” he said, while acknowledging it may be hard to top May’s performance at the 2002 gala.
“We all remember that and we will try to come up with something newer and better,” he said.
Some 10,000 tickets will be awarded by lottery. Tickets will also include entry into the palace garden for a jubilee picnic, with food provided by the palace.
The queen and husband Prince Philip plan to attend along with other senior members of the Royal Family.
Barlow said that the Queen’s grandsons Prince Harry and Prince William had suggested some performers who may be added to the list. Officials said the queen is “content” with the musical program.
He said the goal is the have music from all the decades of the Queen’s reign incorporated into the program
$25K to party with Elton John and Steven Tyler?
Photo courtesy of Wire Image
Elton John and Steven Tyler would love to see you the night of the Oscars. It’ll cost you, though.
Tyler is auctioning two spots at his table at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party dinner on Feb. 26. The event will be hosted by John and partner David Furnish in West Hollywood.
Tyler struck a jovial tone in a statement about the event:
“How would you have to dress if you were sitting next to me at a banquet table at Elton John’s Oscar Party? Sounds like a loaded question, eh? Put your money where your mouth is and arrive as you will and come as you are to help me support the Elton John AIDS Foundation!”
The evening includes a cocktail reception, dinner by “Iron Chef” Cat Cora and a performance by Foster the People following the Oscars telecast.
Over the years the fete has drawn A-listers such as Halle Berry, Nicolas Cage, Kevin Costner, Kevin Spacey, Denzel Washington and Catherine Zeta-Jones, while musical entertainment has been provided by artists including Mary J. Blige, James Blunt and John Legend, Grace Jones, and Florence & the Machine.
The current high bid is $13,500. The experience is valued at $25,000. Proceeds benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. If you win you and your guest will be subject to security screening. You have to get yourselves out there and find your own place to stay. And you cannot resell the item.
- Jennifer Brett/The Buzz/jbrett@ajc.com
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Read more: http://florida.broadwayworld.com/article/BILLY-ELLIOT-THE-MUSICAL-Smash-Hit-Tony-Winner-Leaps-To-Broward-Center-2012020713#ixzz1lk12qXE2
Tuesday, February 7, 2012; 02:02 PM - by Beau Higgins
(Photo By Michael Brosilow)
“BILLY’S THE BEST. IT’S GOT HEART, PASSION AND THE BEST Elton John SCORE EVER.”
NEW YORK POST
THE 2009 TONY AWARD-WINNING BEST MUSICAL
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(Photo By Kyle Froman)
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Read more: http://florida.broadwayworld.com/article/BILLY-ELLIOT-THE-MUSICAL-Smash-Hit-Tony-Winner-Leaps-To-Broward-Center-2012020713#ixzz1lk0zIrtZ
Paul McCartney to Lead Elton John, Annie Lennox at Queen’s Jubilee Concert
By Mark Beech - Feb 7, 2012 12:46 PM GMT-0200
Paul McCartney sings during a live concert. The former Beatle has been touring with a show that features music from across his career. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Former Beatle Paul McCartney will star in a London concert to mark the U.K. queen’s Diamond Jubilee on June 4.
McCartney will be joined by other musical knights including Elton John,Tom Jones and Cliff Richard for a show on a temporary stage designed by architect Mark Fisher near the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, the event’s organizers announced in an e-mailed release today.
Dame Shirley Bassey and Annie Lennox will also take part. Newer pop stars will be showcasing their hits too -- boy band JLS, as well as Jessie J, 23, known for “Price Tag,” and Ed Sheeran, 20, with his song “The A Team.”
Britain is planning a summer of shows tied in with Queen Elizabeth II’s 60-year reign and theOlympic Games, which are staged from July 27 through Aug. 12.
Event co-coordinator Gary Barlow wouldn’t say if his band Take That! would perform. More acts from outside the U.K. will be added to the list, he said. Classical music will be represented by Chinese pianist Lang Lang and British tenor Alfie Boe.
Tickets for the free event are limited to 10,000 people. The British Broadcasting Corp., which will put the event on live television and radio, is to organize a national ballot, which will have an online and postal application process open until March 2.
Jubilee Picnic
Some tickets will be given to representatives of charities. Ticket-holders are invited to a Jubilee picnic in Buckingham Palace Gardens in the afternoon before the evening concert.
Both the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry had requested that certain artists take part, Barlow said, declining to say which ones. The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the British royal family will watch the 2½-hour show, which may include a ballet display, Barlow said.
For the Queen’s Golden Jubilee concert in 2002, guitarist Brian May played the British national anthem on the palace roof. Barlow said the plan was to better the last show.
By moving the stage from the rear of the palace to the front, it opened it up and organizers said as many as 500,000 people may gather in the Mall and Green Park nearby for transmissions of the show.
Information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/diamondjubilee.
To join the ticket ballot, click on that page or send a postcard to The Diamond Jubilee Concert 2012, PO Box 798, Manchester M60 1WU, U.K.
(Mark Beech writes for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer on the story: Mark Beech in London at mbeech@bloomberg.net orhttp://twitter.com/Mark_Beech.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff atmhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
