Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Ed Sheeran to crown queen's four-day jubilee party

Sheeran, 31, will wrap up the Platinum Jubilee celebrations by singing his 2017 hit “Perfect”.

Ed Sheeran to crown queen's four-day jubilee party

British pop superstar Ed Sheeran was on Sunday set to bring the curtain down on four days of momentous nationwide celebrations to honour Queen Elizabeth II's historic Platinum Jubilee.

The multi-award-winning singer-songwriter will perform at the finale of a day-long pageant lauding the 96-year-old monarch's record seven decades on the throne, as a long weekend of festivities across the UK concludes.

Sheeran is one of numerous "national treasures" poised to perform a "special tribute" to the queen against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace to mark the milestone never previously reached by a British sovereign.

Meanwhile, millions of people are expected to attend "Big Jubilee Lunch" picnics, including an attempted world record for the longest street party.

It remains unclear if the queen will make any in-person appearances at the pageant, after being forced to skip several Platinum Jubilee celebration appearances due to mobility issues.

The four-day extravaganza began Thursday with the pomp and pageantry of the Trooping the Colour military parade to mark her official birthday, followed by beacon-lighting ceremonies across the country.

She made two public appearances to huge crowds on the Buckingham Palace balcony that day, and then launched the beacon-lighting at Windsor Castle.

Friday's focus was a traditional Church of England service of thanksgiving led by senior royals -- and returning Prince Harry and his wife Meghan -- in the hallowed surroundings of St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Then on Saturday, the tone turned more celebratory as Motown legend Diana Ross and Italian opera legend Andrea Bocelli led a star-studded "Platinum Party" outside Buckingham Palace.

Spectacle
Sunday's "Platinum Jubilee Pageant" will kick off with a military spectacle celebrating Britain's armed forces along with personnel from many of the other 53 Commonwealth countries.

The Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry -- the largest regular military band in the UK -- will lead the Gold State Coach along a crowd-thronged route to Buckingham Palace.

A cast of 10,000 will then stage a street performance showcasing popular culture over the seven decades of the queen's reign featuring music, dance, fashion, youth culture and classic cars.

Performers from street theatre, carnival and other genres will also join in to celebrate her extraordinary life.

Highlights will include an aerial artist suspended under a vast helium balloon, known as a heliosphere, bearing the sovereign's image.

The carnival will include a giant oak tree flanked with maypole dancers, a huge moving wedding cake sounding out Bollywood hits, a towering dragon and three-storey-high beasts.

The spectacle will culminate in the singing of Britain's national anthem, "God Save the Queen", and Sheeran's much-anticipated performance.

Earlier on Sunday, up to 10 million people are expected to take part in the Big Jubilee Lunch picnics nationwide.

More than 70,000 had registered to host such picnics in villages, town and cities, with families, neighbours and entire communities set to come together to share food and drink.

More than 600 lunches have also been planned throughout the Commonwealth and beyond, from Canada to Brazil, New Zealand to Japan and South Africa to Switzerland.

A flagship feast with specially invited guests will take place at The Oval cricket ground in London.

'Full circle'
Sheeran, 31, will wrap up the Platinum Jubilee celebrations by singing his 2017 hit "Perfect".

Ahead of his appearance, the "Shape of You" singer-songwriter revealed that the 2002 "Party at the Palace" to mark the queen's Golden Jubilee actually inspired his phenomenally successful musical career.

Watching on television, he saw Eric Clapton play his classic song "Layla" and decided "that's what I wanna do", he wrote on Instagram.

Sheeran went on to perform at the queen's Diamond Jubilee concert 10 years ago.

"Life is weird how it keeps coming full circle in lovely ways," he added.

His headline performance will follow Saturday night's "Platinum Party", which featured an array of stars on stage outside Buckingham Palace, with Prince Charles and his son Prince William paying personal tribute to the queen's decades of service.

"You pledged to serve your whole life -- you continue to deliver," Charles said in his poignant message to "Mummy", which he capped by calling for "three cheers to Her Majesty".

The nearly three-hour concert, watched on TV by the monarch from Windsor, came after two packed days of celebrations on Thursday and Friday, which were designated public holidays.

Longer pub opening hours, the various street parties and other events celebrating the queen's central place in the life of most living Britons have been credited with temporarily lifting the gloom of a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

More For You

Covid inquiry begins probe into care home deaths

FILE PHOTO: A mother and daughter sit atop the Covid memorial wall on September 9, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Covid inquiry begins probe into care home deaths

THE Covid inquiry has started examining how the pandemic affected care services for older and disabled people, with families describing the crisis as one of the worst failures of the pandemic.

Nearly 46,000 care home residents died with Covid in England and Wales between March 2020 and January 2022, with many deaths happening in the first weeks of the outbreak.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Glastonbury condemn anti-Israel chants by Bob Vylan

Keir Starmer speaks to members of the media during a visit to RAF Valley, on Anglesey in north-west Wales, on June 27, 2025. PAUL CURRIE/Pool via REUTERS

Starmer and Glastonbury condemn anti-Israel chants by Bob Vylan

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer and Glastonbury organisers said on Sunday (29) they were appalled by on-stage chanting against the Israeli military during a performance at the festival by Punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.

During their show on Saturday (28), the duo chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in reference to the Israel Defense Forces, the formal name of the Israeli military.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan floods

A flooded street near Station Road after heavy rainfall in Hyderabad, Pakistan, on June 27, 2025.

Getty

Pakistan reports 45 deaths from flash floods and rain in monsoon onset

AT LEAST 45 people have died in Pakistan over the past few days due to flash flooding and heavy rainfall since the beginning of the monsoon season, according to disaster management officials on Sunday.

The highest number of deaths was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. There, 21 people were killed, including 10 children.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK Weather Alert: June Heatwave to Hit 34°C, Breaking Records

The UK is bracing for potentially one of the hottest June days on record

iStock

UK set for one of the hottest June days with highs of 34°C

Key points

  • Temperatures may hit 34°C in Greater London and Bedfordshire
  • Amber alert in place across five regions due to health risks
  • Wimbledon’s opening day to be hottest on record
  • Risk of wildfires in London labelled “severe”
  • Scotland and Northern Ireland remain cooler

Hottest June day in years expected as second UK heatwave peaks

The UK is bracing for potentially one of the hottest June days on record, with temperatures expected to reach 34°C on Monday (30 June). The ongoing heatwave, now in its fourth day, is most intense across the South and East of England, particularly in Greater London and Bedfordshire.

Although there is a small chance of temperatures hitting 35°C, they are unlikely to surpass the all-time June record of 35.6°C set in 1976.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Probing all angles in Air India crash, including sabotage: Minister

INDIA’s junior civil aviation minister said on Sunday that all possible angles, including sabotage, were being looked into as part of the investigation into the Air India crash.

All but one of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were killed when it crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. Authorities have identified 19 others who died on the ground. However, a police source told AFP after the crash that the death toll on the ground was 38.

Keep ReadingShow less