Platinum Jubilee concert – live: Diana Ross leads grand finale at BBC celebration

The Queen’s platinum jubilee will be celebrated with a high-profile concert on Saturday evening (4 June).

Many renowned musicians and bands will perform as part of the Platinum Party at the Palace gig, which is being held by the BBC.

Twenty-two thousand people will attend the event, including 10,000 members of the public who won tickets in the public ballot, which closed on 23 March.

Over 7,500 tickets were designated for key workers, members of the armed forces, volunteers, and charities.

Find all the details on how to watch the concert, as well as full updates from the event, below – and updates from other jubilee events here.

Key Points

• Queen and Adam Lambert begin the night with three rock hits

• The Queen appears with Paddington Bear in a pre-recorded skit

• Lee Mack ad-libs a dig at Boris Johnson while on stage

• Rod Stewart covers Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’, the ‘official song of the jubilee'

• George Ezra censors lyric about dying in ‘Green Green Grass'

• Prince William appears on stage to give speech about the environment

• National Anthem lyrics: What are the words to God Save the Queen?

22:25 , Louis Chilton

I’m not the only one who thought so!

22:21 , Louis Chilton

Sound mixing letting her down a bit here, can’t really hear her voice over the orchestration.

22:19 , Louis Chilton

Diana Ross!

22:13 , Louis Chilton

“God Save Our Queen” is followed by Sigala and Ella Eyre.

22:08 , Louis Chilton

Charles and Camilla now on stage. The duke of Cambridge is addressing the crowd.

First proper acknowledgment of the elephant in the room – the queen’s unfortunate absence.

He makes a crack about “It’s Coming Home”... someone clearly wasn’t watching the Hungary game tonight.

22:04 , Louis Chilton

Another little dig at the Prime Minister from Stephen Fry, who stands before a ginormous Union Flag. It doesn’t get much more British than this...

22:02 , Louis Chilton

Like the nature footage before him, John’s being projected onto the front of Buckingham Palace, which really does look quite majestic in a wide shot.

22:00 , Louis Chilton

More tributes – including David Beckham, Judi Dench, and then Elton John, who’s now playing a version of “Your Song” over video.

21:54 , Louis Chilton

This is followed by Celeste, singing “What a Wonderful World”. Quite a radical re-interpretation, I think!

21:52 , Louis Chilton

Prince William has now come out, after being given a hearty (pre-recorded) pat on the back from his grandmother for his work in the field of environmental issues.

He’s giving a speech. Nice to have a break from the remorseless churn of musical acts tbh.

21:46 , Louis Chilton

Ballet dancers move around to the theme from Planet Earth, while nature footage is projected onto the front of Buckingham Palace. I can’t say I really know what to make of it all.

21:44 , Louis Chilton

David Attenborough now being projected onto the edifice of the palace. If we picked our heads of state with a public vote tomorrow, I reckon Attenborough would have a pretty decent chance at becoming king...

21:41 , Louis Chilton

Keys giving what has to be one of the standout performances of the night.

21:35 , Louis Chilton

More video tributes, then Alicia Keys. Got to say, the stage turnarounds here have been pretty impressive. They’re rattling through it.

21:29 , Louis Chilton

Here’s an interesting one I missed – George Ezra censoring the lyrics to “Green Green Grass” to avoid the line about “throwing a party on the day I die”.

Can’t be too careful I suppose.

George Ezra censors own song lyric about dying during Queen’sJubilee Concert

21:25 , Louis Chilton

Now it’s back to rock/pop, with some good old Duran Duran.

21:22 , Louis Chilton

Andrea Bocelli out now singing “Nessun Dorma”. We’ve had everything from rap, to pop, to opera this evening... organisers really running the full gamut of the musical spectrum.

Say what you will, though – this is a banger.

21:19 , Louis Chilton

Jessica Ennis-Hill and Tom Daley introduced after a verse from Doc Brown. Little bit wooden, this duo – but maybe we needed a breather...

21:14 , Louis Chilton

Rod’s now covering Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’, which was recently voted the official song of the jubilee by Radio 2 listeners.

A reminder, in case you missed it...

Country asked to sing ‘Sweet Caroline’ at street parties for Queen’s Jubilee

21:11 , Louis Chilton

Real blast from the past as Rod Stewart takes the stage.

21:07 , Louis Chilton

Now he’s playing “Shotgun”. Not quite underneath the hot sun, though – starting to get rather dark out.

21:04 , Louis Chilton

George Ezra on at the moment. Definitely one of the most-hyped acts before this event started.

21:02 , Louis Chilton

Pretty good, wasn’t he? I thought so, at least.

20:58 , Louis Chilton

Daniel Craig, Paul McCartney and Michelle Obama pay tribute to the Queen in pre-recorded little videos.

Then Sam Ryder comes out with his Eurovision bop “Space Man”

20:55 , Louis Chilton

People generally seem to be digging this section on social media!

After Phantom, we had The Lion King, then Six. Now Technicolour Dream Coat. All in all a rather furious mix of different musical styles and vibes this evening. And we’ve still a long way to go.

20:48 , Louis Chilton

From Hamilton to Phantom... we’ve got a full-blown musical theatre medley on our hands.

20:44 , Louis Chilton

Musical theatre mavens Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lin-Manuel Miranda singing a back-patty little duet now. This is followed by a number from Hamilton.

Hamilton of course not exactly huge on the British monarchy...

20:40 , Louis Chilton

Another moment you might have missed in this whirlwind of acts – Lee Mack’s crack about Boris Johnson.

Lee Mack makes ad-libbed Boris Johnson joke during Jubilee concert

20:35 , Louis Chilton

That said, nothing but love for his sparkly attire.

20:34 , Louis Chilton

Diversity’s medley tribute to 70 years of British pop music is followed by Craig David. Does he sound slightly sharp to anyone else?

20:29 , Louis Chilton

That was the Citizens of the World Refugee Choir singing with Elbow by the way.

20:28 , Louis Chilton

Elbow is followed by Britain’s Got Talent dance troupe Diversity. They’re dancing to the Beatles currently.

20:25 , Louis Chilton

If you missed the queen demostrating her acting skills in that Paddington bear sketch, Jacob Stolworthy has you covered...

The Queen shows off ‘cute’ acting skills with Paddington skit for jubilee concert

20:22 , Louis Chilton

Jax Jones bringing out some special guests for the occasion.

20:18 , Louis Chilton

Here’s Lambert performing a few minutes ago.

Not a bad start to the evening, I suppose. You know what you’re going to get with Queen.

20:15 , Louis Chilton

“We are the Champions” segues into Lee Mack. You can loudly hear the echo from the speakers. Probably a reason they don’t use this spot for stand-up gigs more often...

20:09 , Louis Chilton

Made me chuckle this one...

20:07 , Louis Chilton

From “We Will Rock You” to “Don’t Stop Me Now”.

The crowd seem to be digging it.

20:04 , Louis Chilton

The Queen tapping out the rhthym to “We Will Rock You” on a teacup.

Didn’t see that one coming.

20:01 , Louis Chilton

Ok, so... the queen’s having tea with Paddington Bear. She loves a skit, doesn’t she!

19:49 , Louis Chilton

The event tonight could hardly be placed in more capable hands: those of broadcasters Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp.

Here’s what you need to know about the jubilee concert’s hosts...

Who are are Platinum Jubilee hosts Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp?

19:46 , Louis Chilton

A message from Dolly Parton:

“I just wanted to say thank you for being wonderful. You are more than pearls, and you are more than platinum.

“You have been a shining diamond in this world for so long. Everybody loves you, and I will always love you too.”

From one queen to another...

19:33 , Louis Chilton

Wait - no it doesn’t. We’ve got another half hour of build-up in the BBC coverage.

Lots of nice overhead shots of the crowd.

19:30 , Louis Chilton

And it begins!

19:19 , Louis Chilton

It’s almost time – a little over ten minutes until the event officially kicks off on BBC One.

Who are we most looking forward to seeing perform then?

19:00 , Louis Chilton

Once more, for those at the back...

Here’s who’s set to perform during tonight’s jubilee concert. Just half an hour to go now until the broadcast starts.

Who is performing at the Platinum Party at the Palace concert for the Jubilee?

18:45 , Louis Chilton

Anticipation building next to the stage...

18:30 , Louis Chilton

We’ve all seen it happen – a room full of people launching into “God Save the Queen” at full volume, only to trail off after just a few lines when everyone realises they don’t know the lyrics.

Well, fear not: we’ve got you covered for the evening. See below for the full lyrics of “God Save the Queen”.

(This includes, of course, the verses that usually get left out. “Scatter our enemies... Frustrate their knavish tricks”? If you say so, mate.)

What are the lyrics to the National Anthem, ‘God Save the Queen’?

18:00 , Louis Chilton

Among the acts performing tonight is Eurovision hero Sam Ryder.

Here’s what he said ahead of his appearance tonight...

Eurovision star Sam Ryder is ‘speechless’ about performing at the Jubilee concert

17:30 , Louis Chilton

Tonight’s jubilee concert isn’t the first televised jubilee event we’ve had, of course.

Those who tuned into ITV a couple of weeks ago will remember when Tom Cruise showed his face at the celebrations.

According to Phillip Schofield, however, the Mission: Impossible star’s sudden appearance prompted ‘absolute chaos’ behind the scenes...

Tom Cruise ‘caused chaos’ at Queen’s Jubilee celebrations, says Phillip Schofield

16:45 , Louis Chilton

Anyone else remember this?

16:15 , Louis Chilton

Sound of Music star Julie Andrews is among the celebs to have paid tribute to the queen during the jubilee.

“Your majesty, I well remember the beautiful radio speech you gave on your 21st birthday,” the Sound of Music star began in her tribute.

“You pledged yourself in service to the people of Britain and the Commonwealth. And I feel that in all the years since, you have never betrayed that promise.”

Read more...

Julie Andrews leads tributes to the Queen for platinum jubilee

15:45 , Louis Chilton

There’s still a few hours until the concert gets underway.

If you’re looking for something to watch, here are eight of the best films and TV shows about the queen that are available to stream on Netflix.

The best films and TV series about the Queen to watch on Netflix

15:00 , Louis Chilton

The stage is set...

14:30 , Louis Chilton

“Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond has been voted as the song of the Platinum Jubilee by Radio 2 listeners.

Now, the nation is being called on to sing the track at street parties tomorrow.

Read more below...

Country asked to sing ‘Sweet Caroline’ at street parties for Queen’s Jubilee

13:45 , Louis Chilton

In a turnout for the books, Sex Pistols star Johnny Rotten has said he says he “totally respects” the Queen as a person and is looking forward to this weekend’s jubilee celebrations.

The singer, whose band were famous for their anti-establishment lyrics, admitted he was “attracted to pageantry” and praised the monarch’s “sense of dignity”.

Read more...

Johnny Rotten says he ‘totally respects’ the Queen – but still hates the monarchy

12:50 , Jacob Stolworthy

On hosting duties for tonight’s concert will be Kirsty Young and Roman Kemp.

12:20 , Jacob Stolworthy

Stars set to perform include Diana Ross, George Ezra, Alicia Keys and, of course, Queen + Adam Lambert.

12:00 , Jacob Stolworthy

Many songs will be sung tonight – but we’re going to assume none of these will make a showing.

10 controversial songs about the Queen

11:35 , Jacob Stolworthy

In case you haven’t noticed, the country is currently celebrating the Queen’s 70th year on the throne.

The BBC will mark this with a special concert featuring an array of many famous musicians.

Find out who will be performing here.

11:13 , Jacob Stolworthy

Hello, and welcome to our live blog for tonight’s Platinum Jubilee concert!