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CNN Live Today

Curtain Set to Rise on Queen Elizabeth II Tribute

Aired June 03, 2002 - 12:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Evening approaches in London. And soon the curtain will rise on a much-awaited musical tribute to honor Queen Elizabeth II. It is expected to be the climax of a four-day celebration marking her 50th year on the thrown.

And CNN's Christiane Amanpour joins us from London with a look at what is happening right now -- Christiane.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, people are gathering -- as you can see behind me where I am, kind of right outside Buckingham Palace -- there are thousands of people who are being invited into Buckingham Palace, some 12,000 people, for the concert tonight.

Queen Elizabeth is only the fifth sovereign in 1000-year British monarchy to have made it to 50 years, to have reigned for 50 years. And so, really, all the stops are pulled out for this jubilee celebration. She has been today in Windsor, which is where Windsor Castle is. There was a parade there. She met many of her subjects there.

And that was one of her morning activities. Afterwards, she did light the live music, pull that switch. And that was done with the tunes of the Beatles songs. And then, in Hyde Park, there was a ceremonial gun salute earlier this afternoon.

But the climax, as you say, of today's events will be the concert. People like Ozzy Osbourne, who has been rehearsing here for the last several days, will be performing tonight, Ozzy Osbourne, who has got sort of a new lease on life in the United States through his television program recently. But there will also be classics such as Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles. There will be Elton John. There will be Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics, and all sorts of people here to have a three-hour pop concert in Buckingham Palace.

Pop music, of course, is being picked, because it has been one of the great shapers, one of the great exports of this country over most of the queen's reign, British pop music having such a wide appeal and influence over the last 30 or 40 years or so.

After that, the queen will come out and light a beacon, which will light just behind me outside Buckingham Palace. And then there will be a final and spectacular, we're told, fireworks display. So, that will be for tonight. And then tomorrow, which is the actual anniversary, or the actual day of the jubilee, it will be much more of the traditional British pomp and circumstance. There will be the gilded carriages. There will be church service in full regalia. And then there will be a carnival down the mall, which leads right up to Buckingham Palace here -- Carol.

LIN: Christiane, that's a big crowd behind you there. How popular is the monarchy these days?

AMANPOUR: Well, it is a big crowd.

And from all that we can gather, there have been big crowds having their own celebrations all over England. There have been street parties and all sorts of events that have been planned over the last four days. People here at the palace have been quite energized by this reaction, because, as you know, there was quite some sort of derision at the beginning of this jubilee celebration and fear at the palace that the sort of disrespect that the monarchy had fallen into over the last several years would translate into unenthusiastic, small crowds.

But they have been pleasantly surprised by the turnout. And, again, they keep pointing out that, while there is a small and very vocal minority who wishes the monarchy would simply be abolished, 70 percent of British people still prefer a monarchy over republic. And that figure has been remained pretty constant over the last 30 years.

And, as you can hear, there is a lot of music that is being played to the crowd for the last several hours that they have been gathering here ahead of the big pop concert, which is going to be relayed on great big giant screens, not only outside here, but all over London as well -- Carol.

LIN: All right, Christiane Amanpour, I hope you get to go tonight. Thank you so much for that live report outside of Buckingham Palace.

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