A royal toast: England set for Queen's Platinum Jubilee; star-studded concert & 16000 street parties

London is in celebration mode already. It is sprucing up, going all out with buntings et al to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 70-year reign on the throne. Queen Elizabeth was 25-years-old when she took an oath upon the death of her father.

Today at 96, she is Britain's longest-serving monarch. Reportedly, as per one of the estimates by Local Government Association (LGA), about 16,000 street parties are set to take place to celebrate her reign. There are requests for road closures and the councils are gearing up for the celebrations in a big way. The nation will mark the celebrations spread over a four-day bank holiday starting June 2 till June 5.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson kick-started the week for Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations 2022 via a social media post that said, "This week, let us rejoice in celebrating the love, devotion and leadership of Her Majesty The Queen." It further announced, "With every concert and every street party, may we all rejoice in celebrating the love, devotion and leadership that has made her well and truly Elizabeth the Great."

It has been revealed by some media sources that some of the Queen's retired and cherished racehorses will parade at the Epsom Derby during the celebrations. On June 2, which marks the first day of the celebrations, Hawk T2 jets will be a part of the spectacle set to take place after Trooping.

The star-studded concert

While the street parties, festivals & fairs will dot the entire nation spread across four days, a star-studded concert will be one of the centrepieces of the Jubilee celebrations. The two and a half-hour platinum concert will see performances by the likes of Diana Ross, Queen and Adam Lambert, Duran Duran and Sir Rod Stewart.

Other world-famous names that will appear in front of Buckingham Palace are Alicia Keys, Hans Zimmer, Sam Ryder. The concert, reportedly, will have three stages and 3D projections across the face of the palace. The palace will host the Platinum Party which will be watched by 22,000 people live and will be broadcast on BBC on June 4.

Meanwhile, Glasgow is under fire

In contrast to the mood of the nation, Glasgow city has been under fire for its leadership. The third-largest city in the UK has no plans to go all out with the revelry and merry-making. The only main event in the city will be a cathedral service on Sunday. The leaders of the city have said that they are marking the Queen's Platinum Jubilee by serving up coronation chicken to school kids and hosting a Sunday church service. The low key and solemn celebrations have come in for criticism from the monarchy enthusiasts who want pomp and show.