CORONATION CONCERT: FIRST PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED FOR BBC SPECIAL

A unique Coronation Concert will take place at Windsor Castle to celebrate the Coronation of Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort.

The concert will be attended by a public audience including volunteers from The King and The Queen Consort’s many charity affiliations. It will see a 74 piece world-class classical orchestra to include the strings of the Countess of Wessex String Orchestra and woodwind, brass and percussion sections from the Bands of the Household Division play interpretations of musical favourites fronted by fantastic entertainers, alongside performers from the world of dance and the arts.

British pop group Take That, international superstar Lionel Richie, global pop icon Katy Perry, international opera star Andrea Bocelli, Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, singer/songwriter Freya Ridings and classical-soul composer/producer Alexis Ffrench are some of the artists who will grace the stage at The Coronation Concert in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Sunday 7th of May, the BBC has today confirmed.

Gary, Mark and Howard from Take That said, “This will be our first live show since the Odyssey Tour, four years ago in 2019, and what a stage to come back on! A huge live band and orchestra, a choir, military drummers, the backdrop of Windsor Castle and the celebration of a new King. We can’t wait.”

Richie said, “To share the stage with the other performers at The Coronation Concert is a once-in-a-lifetime event and it will be an honor and a celebration.”

Perry said, “I am excited to be performing at the Coronation Concert, and helping to shine a further light on the British Asian Trust’s Children’s Protection Fund, whose work includes on-ground initiatives to fundraising, with the aim to find solutions to child trafficking.”

The performances will be supported by staging and effects located on the Castle’s East Lawn and will also feature a selection of spoken word sequences delivered by stars of stage and screen.

Through a national ballot held by the BBC, five thousand members of the public are being selected to receive a pair of free tickets for the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle.

Alongside the stars of the concert, the show will also see an exclusive appearance from The Coronation Choir. The 300 strong choir will include singing groups ranging from London Cabbies, an all-deaf sign performance group, a Northern Irish farming community and an LGBTQ+ choir; to a Gaelic choir hailing from the Western Isles of Scotland, Hull’s NHS choir, a traditional male voice choir from Caerphilly and a refugee choir, also from Wales.

A centrepiece of the Coronation Concert, ‘Lighting up the Nation’, will see the country join together in celebration as iconic locations across the United Kingdom are lit up using projections, lasers, potential drone displays and illuminations.

BBC Studios Productions will produce, stage and broadcast the Coronation Concert for BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.