The grand finale: Parade, pageant and thousands of street parties expected on last day of Jubilee celebrations
The fourth and final day of Platinum Jubilee celebrations will be dominated by a parade and pageant in London.
After joyous celebrations at Buckingham Palace on Saturday night, the three-kilometre parade begins outside the Palace of Westminster at 2.30pm and will be led by the Gold State Coach – a 260-year-old carriage that carried the Queen to and from her coronation in 1953.
The procession heads through Whitehall, before taking a turn at Trafalgar Square and through Admiralty Arch.
It will travel towards the Queen Victoria Monument outside Buckingham Palace, turning on to Birdcage Walk and along St James’s Park.
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What to expect during the pageant
The pageant will be divided into four acts: For Queen And Country, The Time Of Our Lives, Let’s Celebrate, and Happy And Glorious.
The first will feature a military parade of 1,750 people and 200 horses – one of the biggest spectacles in British history – from the Army, Navy, RAF, and the Commonwealth.
The second act is a “vibrant display of British life since 1972” and a celebration of culture, music, and technology of the past 70 years.
The third section, Let’s Celebrate, will tell the story of the Queen’s life in 12 chapters, with a nod to her corgis and her beloved horses.
The Queen will be depicted in her younger days with a 20ft puppet of a youthful princess surrounded by a pack of mischievous puppet corgis.
It will also feature a 21ft-tall puppet dragon with a wingspan as wide as the Mall, while her purple and white coronation robe will be recreated by 80 dancers flanked by twirling “baianas”.
The final act will take place in front of the palace around the Queen Victoria Memorial.
Members of the public will be invited to join and sing the national anthem, which will be led by a gospel choir and the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines.
Read more:
The Queen’s journey as a cultural icon
Best pictures of the jubilee from across the UK
Which famous faces will star?
Ed Sheeran will end the celebrations with a musical tribute at around 5pm.
Sheeran wrote on Instagram that past celebrations inspired his musical career, saying: “Twenty years ago I decided I wanted to pick up a guitar because I watched the Golden Jubilee on tv, saw Eric Clapton play Layla and said ‘that’s what I wanna do’.
“Ten years later I played The A Team at the Diamond Jubilee, and now 10 years on I’m playing the Platinum Jubilee this Sunday.
“Life is weird how it keeps coming full circle in lovely ways. Tune in on Sunday and see ya there x.”
Read more: Catch up on key moments from Saturday’s Jubilee party
Other celebrities taking part include Sir Cliff Richard, Jeremy Irons, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Gary Lineker, Rosie Jones, Kadeena Cox, Alan Titchmarsh, Heston Blumenthal, James Martin, Bill Bailey and Gok Wan.
It’s not known whether Paddington Bear will return after his star turn on Saturday evening.
You can find out more about the pageant in our ultimate guide.
What will members of the Royal Family be doing?
In the hours before the pageant, 85,000 people across the UK will take part in Big Jubilee Lunches, an initiative that began in 2009 to bring communities together.
Thousands of street parties will be taking place – you can find one near you here.
Charles and Camilla will attend a lunch at the Oval cricket ground in London, alongside 70 “platinum champions” from the Royal Voluntary Service and celebrity ambassadors for the charity.
While at the ground, they will get to see a 20ft artistic recreation of a Jubilee lunch made by the artist Lucy Sparrow before it is hung at the Grand Entrance of Buckingham Palace later this year.
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The Earl and Countess of Wessex are invited to a “Long Table” street party along Windsor’s Long Walk with members of the local community.
It is not clear whether the Queen will attend any events on Sunday – the 96-year-old stayed away from festivities on Friday and Saturday due to mobility problems.
There is speculation that members of the Royal Family could make an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at the finale of the pageant.