To think Celeste ruined what should have been a brilliant moment?

Sam Ryder was INCREDIBLE.

It was a joy to watch. His delight at being there was infectious - I also didn't know he could play guitar, let alone like that!

Regarding those who were flat; I did see many of the performers fiddling with their ear pieces frequently so maybe they weren't working well? That's got to be so hideous for a performer.

I had not heard of Celeste before (but I am ancient!) and I said to my husband she has an amazing voice for someone who is part of the deaf community (I have partial hearing) and I was so pleased. Then he says she isn't deaf she just has terrible diction. Kinda ruined that 😂

For me Q+AL should have ended the show. I loved seeing Diana Ross but she looked unsteady on her feet, had massive microphone and earpiece issues (could see her constantly fiddling with her mic pack) and her lip synching in places was terrible.

Yes! But my children said the 80's are back in style 😂

@HearMeSnore we said the same about Sam Ryder being an awesome Freddie! What a voice!

That's Sam Fender, so stop trying to be a smart arse.

Ed Sheeran is playing today as is Shirley Bassey, apparently.

As a PP said, that was Sam Fender.

I thought that, @Blueeyedgirl21 - if even the great Guy Garvey was bothering his earpiece, then there was a sound problem. Poor Celeste. And all the others who struggled through their songs. I doubt they're unaware of the reaction(s) to their 'Jemini' moments.

Good shout about needing the Proclaimers at the end!

At least it wasn't David Hasselhoff.

@Oblomov22 Sam Fender ❤️

Elton was pre-recorded because he was on tour. He was performing in Milan.

Ed Sheeran was performing in Sunderland.

I really hate Celeste's version of Wonderful World, even though her voice is great. It was just all wrong. Maybe more because they messed with the arrangement of a perfect song.

@Oblomov22

Sam Ryder was at the Jubilee concert and was amazing. Think you have your Sam's mixed up!

The lighting was spectacular and some acts superb but it fell very flat at the end with a lacklustre finale - why the hell they didn't have a British act/rousing British song absolutely baffles me.

I thought she was fabulous, a wonderful distinctive voice.

Rod Stewart on the other hand, bloody awful. Still not as bad as Paul McCartney last time.

I've seen Celeste on Jools Holland and thought she had a good, unusual voice, but it didn't work for her last night. She seems to be firmly in the BBC rota so I doubt that is the last chance she will get.

I'm not suprised Adele wasn't there after the Las Vegas disaster, she's unreliable. With so many acts on one after another they probably had to go for reliability over fame (Craig David come on down) 😅

Overall we enjoyed the show, although some British gems were missing (Adele, Gary Barlow, Ed Sheeran and why was Elton pre-recorded?) The really dire acts were those who were singing over voiced backing tracks (I'm looking at you Stefflon Don).
It was very clear there were sound issues as a lot of performers quite obviously couldn't hear either themselves or the music. There were a lot who weren't used to performing outside to such a huge audience as well and that really affects the sound.
Celeste does naturally have a wobbly voice and the song was sung in a minor key which will have been very difficult to sing. I think it was written to be ironic. The only part where I knew she fudged it was right at the end and she had a wobble and hit the wrong note. That was nerves. She wasn't awful at all. Sure she was emotionless but you try singing in front of all those people, at the Platinum Jubilee Party no less. I still struggle singing in front of 50 people and I've been doing it for 25 years!

@HearMeSnore

"I also think Sam Ryder would have been incredible doing Freddie Mercury's part instead of Adam Lambert."

I'm afraid Sam Ryder couldn't have done it. Because he was at the Emirates, supporting The Killlers.

I agree with you. The production was amazing and some of the performances were great (although some were... less so), but for me the whole thing lacked vision or cohesion. It was a Royal Variety Performance on acid. Maybe that was the vision...

The production and lighting were astonishing. Andrea Bocelli and Diversity were great. Alicia Keys was very good (and I don't much like her, but she is talented). Celeste was dire, what an embarrassment. Diana Ross was cringe as was Rod (I think he's always dreadful though). Excellent presentation with variable content quality, all in all.

Some of their microphones were fucked, they defo had sound issues. Even the partial lip syncers were drowned out by their own backing tracks

Wow yes, what a great idea that would be. I don’t mind Adam Lambert but Sam would be a better new frontman. He has a big personality and a big voice.

Another here. I'm 37!

Who were the other members of the trio?

I like Celeste but I haven't been impressed by any of her live performances I've seen (BRITS etc), and this was really really not good!! I just don't think she's a big stage, full orchestra type of performer 🤷🏻‍♀️

Looking at Celeste's social media, it seems she has something wrong with her voice. She's been cancelling concerts recently to rest. So maybe that's why she looked uncomfortable or nervous & it didn't sound great 🤷‍♀️

We loved the ALW section but not singing "I just can't wait to be King" as one of the Lion King songs was just a missed opportunity with three of them in the audience 

I also thought that too about the choice of Diana Ross song @Lysianthus. I thought everyone knew it was a bit risqué

I'd never heard of her either. I don't know what you were listening to, but that version of Wonderful World was woefully bad. It wasn't in tune.

I thought it was notable how few world-class British acts were there. I wonder if that was a conscious decision or the A listers turned it down. I'm delighted Paul McCartney didn't feature, as he isn't up to that stuff any more, but neither is Rod Stewart, sadly. Elton was very wise to go for a pre-recorded number. Couldn't they have done that with the Rolling Stones?

Somebody upthread said Madness - yes! What a cracking finale that would have been. What was Diana Ross doing there? She's not British and has no connection with the Royal Family.

Sweet Caroline was apparently voted as the song of the Jubilee by Radio 2 listeners. What an odd thing to do, and then get Rod Stewart to sing it!

Thank goodness for Diversity, who were terrific, and Paddington at the beginning, which was adorable, and the light show, which was phenomenal.