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Platinum Party at the Palace: Jubilee concert is most watched TV event of year as 13.3m tune in

Diana Ross, Rod Stewart and George Ezra all performed

Isobel Lewis
Sunday 05 June 2022 19:17 BST
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Platinum Party at the Palace: star-studded concert celebrates jubilee
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The Platinum Party at the Palace concert has become the most watched TV event of 2022.

Amid a weekend of celebrations for the Queen’s platinum jubilee, the live concert was staged at Buckingham Palace on Saturday night.

The show featured performances from the likes of Diana Ross and Eurovision’s Sam Ryder, while Rod Stewart led the crowds in a rendition of “Sweet Caroline”.

While the Queen was not in attendance after experiencing “discomfort” at Thursday’s celebrations, she did make an appearance in a pre-recorded sketch alongside Paddington Bear, voiced by actor Ben Whishaw.

The concert was watched by 13.3 million people, equating to 74 per cent of the audience share and making it the most watched show of the year so far.

Platinum Party at the Palace featured a number of surprising moments.

At one point, Stephen Fry praised the Queen for “tolerating prime ministers” throughout her reign, while Lee Mack joked about the Partygate scandal in front of Boris Johnson, who was in attendance.

In a four-star review, The Independent’s Mark Beaumont called the concert “one of the most bizarre barrages of random entertainment ever staged”.

Follow The Independent’s Jubilee live blog here.

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