Britain will celebrate the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Sunday with street parties around the country and a concert at Windsor Castle.
Take That, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry are among the stars performing on the East Lawn at Windsor Castle, with 20,000 people set to attend.
The show will hark back to the June 2022 Platinum Jubilee celebrations to mark Elizabeth’s record 70 years on the throne, just three months before her death at the age of 96, AFP reports.
Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel — who sang during the coronation service — will also be performing, along with Chinese pianist Lang Lang, Andrea Bocelli, Paloma Faith and Nicole Scherzinger.
Hollywood star Tom Cruise, actress Joan Collins, adventurer Bear Grylls and singer Tom Jones will appear via video message.
The Royal Ballet, the Royal Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal College of Music and the Royal College of Art will come together for a one-off performance, FRANCE24 reports.
Buckingham Palace said the centrepiece would be “Lighting up the Nation”, in which well-known locations across Britain will be lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.
They include the seafront at Blackpool, Sheffield’s Peace Gardens, the Eden Project nature park in Cornwall and the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle.
Following Saturday’s glittering ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey featuring royalty and leaders from around the world, the emphasis shifted to a chance for the public to mark the “Carolean” age after Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign.
Monday has been declared a public holiday — meaning people can let loose on Sunday without having to worry about a hangover.
Charles and Camilla hope the long weekend “will provide an opportunity to spend time and celebrate with friends, families and communities,” Buckingham Palace said.
After the post-World War II hardships, street parties were a major feature of Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 — and a memorable part of celebrations for her long reign in 1977 and last year.
The Big Lunch is an attempt to keep alive that more neighbourly spirit.
Charles was crowned monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms on Saturday, during a ceremony steeped in a millennium of ritual and spectacle.
After a lifetime as the heir to Queen Elizabeth, the 74-year-old became the oldest sovereign ever crowned at Westminster Abbey.
