Katy Perry to perform at King Charles III’s coronation concert

AFP, London :
Take That, Katy Perry will
be among those performing
at a concert to mark King Charles III’s coronation, the BBC said
on Friday. Lionel Richie and Andrea Bocelli will join the singer too. A televised Coronation Concert is being held in the grounds of Windsor Castle,
west of London, on May 7 —
the day after Charles is officially crowned king.
BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore said the coronation was a “once-in-a-generation occasion” and called the
concert line-up ‘world class.’
But recent reports have said that a number of big-name stars have turned down the gig,
including Adele, Elton John, Harry Styles and the Spice Girls.
They are said to have declined because of scheduling clashes
or touring commitments.
But the Mail on Sunday said singer Kylie Minogue had refused given increased republican
sentiment in her native Australia, where Charles is also king. Some 20,000 members of the public and invited guests are
set to attend in person, with the live event also broadcast
on radio and online.
Other confirmed performers in the lineup include opera star Bryn Terfel, the singer-songwriter Freya Ridings and composer-producer Alexis Ffrench.
Perry — who performed for US President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021 — as well as
Take That and Richie all have links to Charles’s charitable foundations. Richie, who at 73 is just
a year younger than the king said “the concert would be an honour and a celebration.”
Bocelli has previously
performed for Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September last year aged 96.
He was among a star-studded lineup headlined by Diana Ross for the late monarch’s Platinum Jubilee concert marking her 70th year on the throne last June. Further names for the Coronation Concert will be announced in
due course, the BBC said.