The Diamond Jubilee Concert was a British music concert and celebration held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2012. The concert was organised by

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead sin ...

singer-songwriter

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, havi ...

and was part of Queen Elizabeth II's

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

celebrations. The Diamond Jubilee Concert followed two concerts held at the palace for the Queen's

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

a decade earlier – the classical themed Prom at the Palace and the pop/rock themed Party at the Palace, followed by the Platinum Party at the Palace for the Queen's

Platinum Jubilee A platinum jubilee is a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary. The most recent monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the other Co ...

in 2022. The concert was partially attended by the Queen, who arrived at 9 pm, but not by

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

who had been taken to hospital with a bladder infection earlier in the day.

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

and other members of the royal family attended the whole concert.

Ticketing

Ten thousand free tickets were made available to the public, with applications possible, by post or online, between 7 February and 2 March 2012. After the application period closed, successful applicants were then drawn by random ballot. A total of 1.2 million applications were eventually received, 240 for every available pair. Non-ticketed attendees could watch the concert on giant TV screens in the Mall and local Parks. Estimates of these free attendees range from 250,000 to 500,000 people.

Date, venue and stage

The concert took place on

bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or he ...

Monday 4 June as part of the extended weekend celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee, which ran from 2 to 5 June. The acts performed on a specially constructed stage, with a canopy, around the

Queen Victoria Memorial The Victoria Memorial is a monument to Queen Victoria, located at the end of The Mall in London, and designed and executed by the sculptor (Sir) Thomas Brock. Designed in 1901, it was unveiled on 16 May 1911, though it was not completed until ...

, in front of the palace. The stage was designed by

Mark Fisher Mark Fisher (11 July 1968 – 13 January 2017), also known under his blogging alias k-punk, was an English writer, music critic, political and cultural theorist, philosopher, and teacher based in the Department of Visual Cultures at Gold ...

House band

The

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

, led by Mike Stevens, who was also the

Musical Director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

of the concert, consisted largely of the

band, a few additional musicians and the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symp ...

. The house band performed with many of the guest artists that were featured, however

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

brought their own bands to the concert.

Diamond Jubilee song

and

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musica ...

wrote a song for the jubilee entitled "

Sing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music ( arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or ...

" which was performed for the first time at the concert by a choir from many

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

countries. The song draws inspiration from the music and people of the Commonwealth. Its creation was the subject of a one-hour BBC documentary broadcast on 3 June 2012 by

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

Jubilee picnic

Concert ticket holders were given access to the palace gardens for an afternoon picnic before the main event. They were served cold hampers with a British themed menu specially designed by

Heston Blumenthal Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is a British celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. Blumenthal is regarded as a pioneer of multi-sensory cooking, food pairing and flavour encapsulation. He came to public attention with un ...

and the royal chef Mark Flanagan.

Performances

The running order was: *

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stu ...

with drummers and trumpeters from the second battalion of the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremoni ...

– " Let Me Entertain You" *Introduction – Rob Brydon * will.i.am and

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...

– "

I Gotta Feeling "I Gotta Feeling" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fifth studio album ''The E.N.D.'' (2009). It was written by the group members with the song's producers David Guetta and Frédéric Riesterer. The song was rel ...

" / " This Is Love" *

– "

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...

" * JLS – "

Everybody in Love "Everybody in Love" is a song by English boyband JLS from their self-titled debut album (2009). The song was released as a digital download on 1 November 2009, followed by a physical release the following day. The song became the band's secon ...

" / " She Makes Me Wanna" *Interlude –

Miranda Hart Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke (born 14 December 1972) is an English actress and writer. Following drama training at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Hart began writing material for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and making appearances in va ...

and Cheryl (from

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a ...

) – " Need You Now" (cover of

Lady A Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar ...

song) *Interlude –

Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom '' Not Going Out'', being a team captain on th ...

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

– Medley: "Dynamite", " The Young Ones", " Devil Woman", " We Don't Talk Anymore", " Wired for Sound" and "

The Millennium Prayer "The Millennium Prayer" is a song recorded by English singer Cliff Richard, in which the words of the Lord's Prayer are set to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne". It was released in November 1999 as a charity single in the lead-up to the new millenni ...

" (followed by " Congratulations") *Interlude –

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...

– "

Hungarian Rhapsody The Hungarian Rhapsodies, S.244, R.106 (french: Rhapsodies hongroises, german: Ungarische Rhapsodien, hu, Magyar rapszódiák), is a set of 19 piano pieces based on Hungarian folk themes, composed by Franz Liszt during 1846–1853, and late ...

" / "

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered ...

" *Interlude –

Alfie Boe Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English tenor and actor, notably performing in musical theatre. He is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre in ...

– " O Sole Mio" / " It's Now or Never" *Interlude –

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric ...

and

Ruby Turner Francella Ruby Turner MBE (born 22 June 1958) is a British Jamaican R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress. In a music career spanning more than 30 years, Turner is best known for her album and single releases in Europe and North Amer ...

– "

You Are So Beautiful "You Are So Beautiful" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher that was first released in 1974 on Preston's ninth studio album, '' The Kids & Me''. It was also the B-side of his single "Struttin'". Later that same year, English singer ...

" *Interlude –

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

– " Slave to the Rhythm" *Interlude –

and

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

– " The A Team" *

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

and

Joanne Shaw Taylor Joanne Shaw Taylor (born 1985, England) is an English singer and guitarist. She was discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics at the age of 16. Taylor's albums via Ruf Records, '' White Sugar'' (2009) and ''Diamonds in the Dirt'' (2010), p ...

– " There Must Be An Angel" *Interlude –

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

Renée Fleming Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for ...

– " Un Bel Di Vedremo" *Interlude – Rob Brydon *

– " Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" and "

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label=Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved b ...

" *Interlude –

. During the interlude, the Queen arrived. *

– "

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...

" *Interlude –

, The Commonwealth Band,

Gareth Malone Gareth Edmund Malone (born 9 November 1975) is an English choirmaster and broadcaster, self-described as an " animateur, presenter and populariser of choral singing". He is best known for his television appearances in programmes such as '' Th ...

and the

Military Wives The Military Wives Choirs is a registered charity and network of 75 choirs in British military bases across the UK and overseas, bringing women in the military community closer together through singing. With over 2,200 members, the MWC network ...

– "

" *Interlude – Rob Brydon organised a forward-moving Mexican wave in the Mall *

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalist ...

– "Diamonds Are Forever" *

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

– Medley: "

Spinning Around "Spinning Around" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue for her seventh studio album, ''Light Years'' (2000). Written by Ira Shickman, Osborne Bingham, Kara DioGuardi and Paula Abdul, the song was initially meant to be recorded by Abdul ...

", " Can't Get You Out of My Head", " Step Back in Time" and " All the Lovers". Dance troupe Flawless performed during the second half of the number. *Interlude –

and

– " Somewhere" *Interlude – Rob Brydon *

– "

I'm Still Standing "I'm Still Standing" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, from John's 1983 album ''Too Low for Zero''. It was the second single released from the album in the UK, and the first single released in the Un ...

", "

Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in Ma ...

" and "

Crocodile Rock "Crocodile Rock" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in summer 1972 at the Château d'Hérouville studio in France (it was listed as "Strawberry Studios" in the album's credits), where John and his team had previous ...

" *Interlude –

*A film about the Queen's reign was played, which included her coronation, past jubilees, The Royal Wedding and other events. The film was accompanied by the

, performing an instrumental arrangement of "

Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, '' All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, ...

". *Interlude –

(

sang, unaccompanied, a portion of " Two Little Boys" during the interlude.) *

– " Sir Duke", " Isn't She Lovely?" (the lyrics were amended to refer to the Queen), "

Happy Birthday Happy Birthday may refer to: * "Happy Birthday", an expression of good will offered on a person's birthday Film, theatre and television * ''Happy Birthday'' (1998 film), a Russian drama by Larisa Sadilova * ''Happy Birthday'', a 2001 film featu ...

" (with will.i.am) and "

Superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs an ...

" *Interlude –

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

– "

Our House Our House may refer to: Film and television * ''Our House'' (2003 film) or ''Duplex'', an American film by Danny DeVito * ''Our House'' (2006 film), a television movie starring Doris Roberts * ''Our House'' (2018 film), an American-Canadian-Ge ...

" and " It Must Be Love". *Interlude – Peter Kay *

– " Magical Mystery Tour", " All My Loving", " Let It Be", " Live and Let Die" and "

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Following t ...

" *Finish –

made a speech *"

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, b ...

" (National Anthem) *Grand Finale – The Queen lit the last National Beacon, after which there was a firework display, during which the melodies of several patriotic songs and hymns were played: "

Zadok the Priest ''Zadok the Priest'' ( HWV 258) is a British anthem that was composed by George Frideric Handel for the coronation of King George II in 1727. Alongside ''The King Shall Rejoice'', '' My Heart is Inditing'' and ''Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened'' ...

" (

Georg Friedrich Händel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training ...

), " I Vow to Thee My Country" (

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite '' The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

), "

Land of Hope and Glory "Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar written in 1901 and lyrics by A. C. Benson later added in 1902. Composition The music to which the words of the refrain 'Land of Hope and Glory, &c' below are ...

" (

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

) and "Ode to Joy" / Anthem of Europe (

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Broadcasting

The concert was broadcast live on

, BBC One HD and

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

. American broadcaster ABC showed highlights the following day after as ''Concert for the Queen: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration With Katie Couric'' as well as an encore airing on 9 June. Broadcasting unions announced in April 2012 that they would ballot their members over taking

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...

due to an ongoing pay dispute with the BBC, leading to media speculation that the BBC coverage of the concert could be affected. It was later confirmed that the BBC's coverage wouldn't be affected by any strikes. It aired on 5 June on CBC television in Canada.

BBC Entertainment BBC Entertainment is an international television channel broadcasting comedy, drama, light entertainment, reality and children's programming (some regions only) from the BBC, Channel 4 and other UK production houses. The channel broadcasts reg ...

showed the concert on 8 June in Latin America. The concert aired from 19:30 until approximately 23:00 UK time. In the UK the programme was seen by an average of 15.32 million viewers on BBC One, making it the 6th highest UK TV audience of 2012, but peaking near 17 million. For the ABC broadcast the following aired: *will.i.am and Jessie J – "I Gotta Feeling" / "This Is Love" *Jessie J – "Domino" *Tom Jones – "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)" and "Delilah" *Kylie Minogue – medley "Spinning Around", "Can't Get You Out Of My Head", "Step Back In Time" and "All The Lovers" *Elton John – "I'm Still Standing", "Your Song" and "Crocodile Rock" *Stevie Wonder – "Sir Duke", "Isn't She Lovely", "Happy Birthday" (with will.i.am) and "Superstition" *Madness – "Our House" and "It Must Be Love" *Paul McCartney – "All My Loving", "Let It Be", "Live and Let Die" and "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" *Finish – Prince Charles made a speech at the end of the concert *The National Anthem was played, which majority sang. *Grand Finale – The Queen lit the National Beacon followed by a display of fireworks, during which the melodies of several national hymns were played. **Annie Lennox's participation was listed in the program description yet her appearance did not air. The show of 5 June on ABC opened to 6.4 million (4.1/6) before rising in the second hour to 7.2 million (4.7/8) for an average of 6.8 million viewers for the evening. The broadcast was aired on Channel 9 in Australia on 5 June – and was broadcast in its entirety apart from: *Interlude – Jimmy Carr *Lang Lang – "Hungarian Rhapsody" / "Rhapsody In Blue" *Interlude – Miranda Hart *Interlude – Lenny Henry *Jools Holland and Ruby Turner – "You Are So Beautiful" *Interlude – Jimmy Carr

References

External links

Official site

Official site (BBC)
{{Authority control 2012 in London 2012 in British music Buckingham Palace Concerts in the United Kingdom Entertainment in London Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II June 2012 events in the United Kingdom 2010s in the City of Westminster

Ticketing

Date, venue and stage

House band

Diamond Jubilee song

Jubilee picnic

Performances

Broadcasting

See also

References

External links