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Diamond Jubilee: Pop royalty to play for Queen Diamond Jubilee: Pop royalty to play for Queen
(40 minutes 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.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.
Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Sir Elton John are among the artists, and Madness will perform on the roof.Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Sir Elton John are among the artists, and Madness will perform on the roof.
The audience will comprise people who got tickets in a public ballot and those from charities with royal links.The audience will comprise people who got tickets in a public ballot and those from charities with royal links.
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 Queen lighting one of about 4,500 beacons across the world marking her 60-year reign.
Beacons across the Commonwealth are being lit at 2200 local time, with Tonga in the South Pacific due to be the first country to ignite its tribute. Beacons across the Commonwealth are being lit at 2200 local time, with Tonga in the South Pacific among the first countries to ignite their tributes.
In the afternoon, 10,000 ballot winners and 2,000 VIPs will enjoy a picnic in the gardens of Buckingham Palace created by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal and royal chef Mark Flanagan. Stars including Stevie Wonder have started their sound checks on the concert stage, which has been set up around the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace.
It has been a chilly wait for those without tickets to tonight's Jubilee concert but a party atmosphere is growing on The Mall.
Fold-out chairs have been set up by the barriers blocking the road to Buckingham Palace - the best seats outside the house.
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."
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.
"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."
Meanwhile, groups of people without tickets started arriving on The Mall nearby to watch the concert on big screens. They were only beaten to the best viewing spots by nearly 100 people who had set up tents overnight.
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.
Picnic hampers for the guests arrived at the palace in the morning in a convoy of eight lorries after being assembled in Leicester overnight.
In the afternoon, the 10,000 ballot winners and 2,000 VIPs will enjoy the picnic created by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal and royal chef Mark Flanagan.
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.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.
There will also be cupcakes created by Fiona Cairns, who baked the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake, and cheese and biscuits. There will also be cupcakes created by Fiona Cairns, who baked the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding cake.
The hampers were due to arrive at Buckingham Palace on Monday morning in a convoy of eight lorries after being assembled in Leicester overnight. 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.
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. At Constitution Hill, picnic guests have already started turning up to see if they can queue to enter the grounds but most are being told to return later.
Thousands of people are also expected in central London later to watch the concert on big screens set up in the Mall and St James's Park, near Buckingham Palace, as well in 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.
Several people set up tents in the Mall overnight.
The concert on a stage set up around the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace follows Sunday's spectacular River Thames pageant which attracted hundreds of thousands of rain-soaked people to watch the flotilla of 1,000 vessels.
After a pageant on the Thames - where the elements weren't kind but the enthusiasm of the spectators was undimmed - a change of scene and tempo.
At the end of the Golden Jubilee concert, Sir Paul McCartney asked the Queen, "Are we doing this next year?" "Not in my garden" came the regal reply.
Ten years on, she's had her way. The concert will be staged outside the palace gates. The official guests will reflect the changes in a decade. Camilla Parker Bowles is now the Duchess of Cornwall. Rupert Murdoch was invited last time. Were any newspaper proprietors invited this time?
At the end of the concert, the Queen - who at 86, probably won't sit through all of the performances and who may well come armed with ear plugs as she did in 2002 - will light one of the last of more than 4,500 beacons around the world.
The Queen travelled in a barge alongside senior members of the Royal Family as street parties were held around the country.
Buckingham Palace has told the BBC the Royal Family were "touched" at the turnout, despite the rainy weather.
The concert, 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.
And it will feature a special song - sung by 200 people from around the Commonwealth - co-written for the occasion by Gary Barlow and Lord Lloyd Webber.
Motown legend Wonder has said: "It's an honour to celebrate the Queen. It's an honour to celebrate Great Britain. The time is overdue that I meet Her Majesty."
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".
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 the concert will feature pop veterans Madness performing Our House.
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 will be lit throughout the evening in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.Beacons will be lit throughout the evening in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.
In the UK, beacons have been placed on historic landmarks, hill-top vantage points and famous mountains. Beacons have been placed on the battlements of the Tower of London, and at St James's Palace, Lambeth Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham, Balmoral and Holyroodhouse 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 Holyroodhouse 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. Tristan da Cunha, a British territory in the South Atlantic, is the location for the most remote lighting. 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

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