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Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie among musical acts to perform the coronation concert

Andrea Bocelli and Sir Bryn Terfel are also on the line-up

Annabel Nugent
Saturday 15 April 2023 08:07 BST
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King’s coronation: Take That and Katy Perry among stars to perform at concert

Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie are among the musical acts who will be performing at the coronation concert.

The official coronation takes place on Saturday 6 May, with a coronation concert taking place the following day on Sunday 7 May.

Also on the line-up are Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli and Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel.

They will be joined by singer-songwriter Freya Ridings and classical-soul composer Alexis Ffrench.

More musical acts are due to be announced soon.

The event, celebrating the crowning of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, will take place at Windsor Castle in front of a crowd of 20,000 members of the public and invited guests.

It will be broadcast across BBC television and radio stations.

Speaking about the scheduled Take That performance, BBC has said that three of the original band members will feature: Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, and Mark Owen.

Robbie Williams and Jason Orange could join the other Take That members at the concert (Getty)

They said, however, that the show would offer an opportunity for Robbie Williams and Jason Orange to rejoin for a one-off reunion.

This could very well happen, given that Williams has previously joined the remaining trio for performances, including a virtual charity show that took place during the pandemic.

Take That have performed at a number of Royal Variety Performances over the years. Barlow also curated the concert in celebration of the late Queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations in 2012.

Katy Perry says she is ‘excited’ to perform at Windsor (Getty)

“This will be our first live show since the Odyssey Tour, four years ago in 2019, and what a stage to come back on,” said Barlow, Donald, and Owen about their forthcoming performance.

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“A huge live band and orchestra, a choir, military drummers, the backdrop of Windsor Castle and the celebration of a new King. We can’t wait.”

Perry has said that she is “excited” to perform at the coronation concert. The “California Girls” singer is an ambassador for The British Asian Trust, a charity founded by the King when he was Prince of Wales, due to her commitment to global charities such as Unicef and her own Firework Foundation.

Andrea Bocelli has also been added to the line-up (PA)

“I am excited to be performing at the coronation concert, and helping to shine a further light on the British Asian Trust’s Children’s Protection Fund, whose work includes on-ground initiatives to fundraising, with the aim to find solutions to child trafficking,” said Perry.

Richie added that it was an “honour” and a “once-in-a-lifetime event” to be performing at the coronation.

He was appointed as The Prince’s Trust’s first global ambassador and is the chair of the Global Ambassador Group.

Bocelli and Sir Bryn will perform a duet of an “iconic song of love and collective solidarity”. The former said that it had been a “great honour” to have sung for the late Queen.

Another duet will be performed courtesy of North London singer Ridings and classical composer, producer, and pianist Ffrench.

British milliner Justin Smith with a crown he has created using 319 Scrabble tiles (PA)

The Coronation Choir – created with community choirs and amateur singers from across the UK – will also feature in the event, appearing alongside the Virtual Choir, which is made up of singers from across the Commonwealth.

The centrepiece of the concert will be Lighting Up the Nation, in which locations across the UK will be lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays, and illuminations.

“We are bringing the nation together for this once-in-a-generation occasion, broadcast exclusively across the BBC live from Windsor Castle,” said Charlotte Moore, BBC chief content officer.

“We have a world-class line-up of performers to look forward to for what promises to be a very special night of celebration and entertainment,” she added.

You can find more information about the coronation concert, including musicians reported to have turned down offers to perform.

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