Tom Cruise joins royally good line-up for concert
Tom Cruise, Winnie the Pooh and Sonam Kapoor will have roles in the coronation concert celebrating the crowning of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla.
Alongside Sir Tom Jones, Dame Joan Collins, adventurer Bear Grylls and former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, they will appear in a series of pre-recorded sketches revealing little-known facts about the monarch.
The inclusion of Hollywood star Cruise, who has a long-standing relationship with the royal family, and beloved literary figure Winnie the Pooh in the segment could create a moment to match that of the Platinum Party at the Palace, where the late Queen Elizabeth II shared tea with Paddington Bear.
Musicians Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, veteran rock guitarist Steve Winwood, Nicole Scherzinger of The Pussycat Dolls and Chinese pianist Lang Lang have also been added to the line-up.
Also among the new additions are Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage, DJ Pete Tong with his Ibiza Classics project and winner of The Piano TV talent show, Lucy.
Bollywood star Kapoor will deliver a spoken-word performance.
They join a billing that already includes Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, plus classical music acts Andrea Bocelli and Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel.
The event on Sunday, to be held on the grounds of Windsor Castle, will be 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.
Winwood, a veteran of the blues rock scene who played in the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith, will sing alongside the Commonwealth virtual choir, featuring groups and individuals from more than 40 Commonwealth countries. He said: “I, together with millions and millions of other people all around the globe, am a lifelong monarchist.
“So to be included in the coronation celebrations of their majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla is for me a lifetime achievement.”