This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18320373#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

The article has changed 21 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 10 Version 11
Diamond Jubilee: Pop royalty to play for Queen Diamond Jubilee: Crowds gather for picnic
(about 1 hour later)
About 12,000 people are expected at Buckingham Palace later for a picnic ahead of a star-studded concert to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Hundreds of ticket-holders for a picnic and star-studded concert to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee are gathering outside Buckingham Palace.
Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Sir Elton John are among the artists, and Madness will perform on the roof. Acts including Sir Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder have been running through sound checks ahead of the event, which will be attended by 12,000 people.
The show will end with Queen lighting one of about 4,500 beacons across the world marking her 60-year reign. The show will end with the Queen lighting one of 4,500 beacons across the world marking her 60-year reign.
Beacons in Commonwealth countries including Tonga, Australia and New Zealand have already been lit. Beacons in Commonwealth countries including Tonga and Australia are lit.
Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard lit the beacon at Parliament House in Canberra.Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard lit the beacon at Parliament House in Canberra.
They are being lit at 22:00 local time in the Commonwealth and British overseas territories - those in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man will be set alight between 22:00 and 22:30 BST.They are being lit at 22:00 local time in the Commonwealth and British overseas territories - those in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man will be set alight between 22:00 and 22:30 BST.
Stars including McCartney and Wonder have been running through their sound checks on the concert stage, which has been set up around the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. Hundreds of ticket-holders have now been allowed to enter an official queuing area to get into palace grounds at Constitution Hill.
It has been a chilly wait for those without tickets to tonight's Jubilee concert but a party atmosphere is growing on The Mall. They had previously formed their own make-shift queue with a line at least 10-people deep snaking its way down the pavement.
Fold-out chairs have been set up by the barriers blocking the road to Buckingham Palace - the best seats outside the house. Some 10,000 winners of a public ballot and 2,000 VIPs and representatives of charities will enjoy the afternoon picnic - created by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal and royal chef Mark Flanagan - ahead of the concert, which is due to begin at 19:30 BST (18:30 GMT).
Others are even more dedicated. Alison Stephens and her two sons, from Romford in Essex, have been camping on the side of the road since Saturday to catch all the Jubilee events. "The weather has been terrible, but we're most excited about the concert and Tuesday's procession." As some of the biggest names in world music rehearsed, the crowd on The Mall had their view of the stage blocked by a large and unsightly green fence.
Meanwhile, the picnic guests have started turning up dressed in everything from cocktail dresses to union jack flags. They are keen to start their own queue but are being told to return at about 14:00 BST. This was later removed, to loud cheers from the flag-waving crowd.
"We're delighted we got tickets," says John Barstow, from north Wales, accompanied by his wife Cheryl. "We thought we'd better get here in time if yesterday's crowds were anything to go by." Samuel Mellows, 20, from Poole, Dorset, had slept out in a poncho to secure a prime view. "This is part of history and I wouldn't miss it."
Meanwhile, groups of people without tickets began to arrive on The Mall nearby to watch the concert on big screens. They were only beaten to the best viewing spots by about 100 people who had set up tents overnight. Rena Croker, 76, from Essex, slept in her car.
The event follows Sunday's spectacular River Thames pageant which attracted hundreds of thousands of rain-soaked people to watch the flotilla of 1,000 vessels as street parties took place across the country. "We're top campers-out for Cliff Richard. This is nothing compared to what we have done for him. We once camped for three weeks outside the Royal Albert Hall," she says with a glint in her eye and a glittering union jack hat perched on her white hair.
Picnic hampers for the guests arrived at the palace in the morning in a convoy of eight lorries after being assembled in Leicester overnight. That most enduring British spirit of simply grinning and bearing it is alive and well, it seems.
In the afternoon, the 10,000 winners of a public ballot and 2,000 VIPs and people from charities, will enjoy the href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17757416" >picnic created by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal and royal chef Mark Flanagan. The event, which will be broadcast by the BBC, also includes Robbie Williams, Ed Sheeran, JLS, Kylie Minogue, Sir Tom Jones, Jessie J, Dame Shirley Bassey and Annie Lennox.
Individual hampers handed out to each of the guests will contain tea-smoked Scottish salmon, chilled garden soup, a coronation chicken-inspired dish, and strawberry crumble made from fruit grown on the Queen's Sandringham estate. Joe Butler, 25, who has travelled down from Sheffield, told the BBC News website he was looking forward to seeing artists from different generations.
There will also be cupcakes created by Fiona Cairns, who baked the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake. "Like my granddad said to me before I left - 'say hello to Shirley Bassey'.
A union jack flag and plastic poncho, in case of rain, will also be included - but the forecast is for drier weather than on Sunday and temperatures of about 12C. "And you know what, it's really nice to be proud to be British for once - you see lots of Americans with flags but not usually us."
At Constitution Hill, picnic guests turning up to Buckingham Palace to see if they can queue to enter the grounds are being told to return later. But about 200 are choosing to remain in the area, milling around with other ticket holders near security barriers next to the entrance gate. Those without tickets have gathered on The Mall nearby to watch the concert on big screens with about 100 people sleeping in tents overnight to grab the best spots.
Just after 14:00 BST, crowds at barriers at the Buckingham Palace end of The Mall cheered as a large green fence obscuring their view of the stage was taken down.
Samuel Mellows, 20, from Poole, Dorset, said he had travelled to The Mall because "it's part of history".
"I'm going to be able to say to my children and my children's children, I was here and part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations."
Police say 250,000 people are expected on the streets of London later to watch the concert outside the palace.
Monday's celebrations follow Sunday's spectacular River Thames pageant which attracted hundreds of thousands of rain-soaked people to watch the flotilla of 1,000 vessels as street parties took place across the country.
Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said there had been 10 arrests during the Jubilee celebrations.
"We have had absolutely no problems at all yet," he said on Monday afternoon.
"It seems to have gone really well - we had one-and-a half-million people out yesterday and made just 10 arrests so that is not bad."
Picnic hampers for the guests contain dishes including tea-smoked Scottish salmon, chilled garden soup and a coronation chicken-inspired dish.
They also include a strawberry crumble made from fruit grown on the Queen's Sandringham estate and cupcakes created by Fiona Cairns, who baked the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake.
A union jack flag and plastic poncho, in case of rain, are also be included - but the forecast is for drier weather than on Sunday and temperatures of about 12C.
Thousands of people are expected in central London later to watch the concert on the big screens, which are also located in St James's Park, Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square.Thousands of people are expected in central London later to watch the concert on the big screens, which are also located in St James's Park, Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square.
The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will join the Queen at the concert.The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will join the Queen at the concert.
The event, which starts at 19:30 BST (18:30 GMT) and will be broadcast by the BBC, also includes Robbie Williams, Ed Sheeran, JLS, Kylie Minogue, Sir Tom Jones, Jessie J, Dame Shirley Bassey and Annie Lennox.
The official running order for the concert has not been confirmed but organisers are promising "surprises".The official running order for the concert has not been confirmed but organisers are promising "surprises".
But there will be a special song - sung by 200 people from around the Commonwealth - co-written for the occasion by Gary Barlow and Lord Lloyd Webber.But there will be a special song - sung by 200 people from around the Commonwealth - co-written for the occasion by Gary Barlow and Lord Lloyd Webber.
At the Golden Jubilee concert in 2002 Queen guitarist Brian May played the National Anthem on the roof of Buckingham Palace - this year the concert will feature pop veterans Madness performing Our House.
At the Golden Jubilee concert in 2002 Queen guitarist Brian May played the National Anthem on the roof of Buckingham Palace - this year pop veterans Madness will perform Our House atop the palace.
After the musical tribute, the Queen will greet the crowds and she is scheduled to place a crystal glass diamond into a special pod, triggering the lighting of one of the last beacon in The Mall.After the musical tribute, the Queen will greet the crowds and she is scheduled to place a crystal glass diamond into a special pod, triggering the lighting of one of the last beacon in The Mall.
Beacons have also been placed on the battlements of the Tower of London, and at St James's Palace, Lambeth Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham, Balmoral and Holyrood House and on Hadrian's Wall.Beacons have also been placed on the battlements of the Tower of London, and at St James's Palace, Lambeth Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham, Balmoral and Holyrood House and on Hadrian's Wall.
And the highest peaks of the UK's four nations - Ben Nevis, Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Slieve Donard - will be lit up by teams from four charities.And the highest peaks of the UK's four nations - Ben Nevis, Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Slieve Donard - will be lit up by teams from four charities.
The hotel in Kenya where the Queen was told in 1952 of her father George VI's death will also light a beacon.The hotel in Kenya where the Queen was told in 1952 of her father George VI's death will also light a beacon.
The evening will end with a firework display.The evening will end with a firework display.
See all the latest Diamond Jubilee news and features at bbc.co.uk/diamondjubileeSee all the latest Diamond Jubilee news and features at bbc.co.uk/diamondjubilee

Explore our Diamond Jubilee interactives

Explore our Diamond Jubilee interactives

How are you celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee? Are you going to the concert? Will you be watching events on a big screen? Share your stories with us. Tweet using the hashtag #bbcjubilee or fill in the form below if you are willing to be contacted by the BBC.How are you celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee? Are you going to the concert? Will you be watching events on a big screen? Share your stories with us. Tweet using the hashtag #bbcjubilee or fill in the form below if you are willing to be contacted by the BBC.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditionsRead the terms and conditions