Coronation concert: Global superstars perform at Windsor spectacular

A host of performers from around the world came together at Windsor Castle on Sunday night for a star-studded concert to mark the coronation of King Charles III.

The Coronation Concert was beamed on to large screens across the country and saw the Prince of Wales make a speech honouring his father the king, before performances by Katy Perry, Take That, Lionel Richie and Nicole Scherzinger.

Stars including Hugh Jackman, Pierce Brosnan, Dame Joan Collins, Bear Grylls, Alan Titchmarsh and Sir Tom Jones sent recorded video messages in honour of the king throughout the concert, which was hosted by Hugh Bonneville.

Top Gun star Tom Cruise delivered a video message from his War Bird plane, saying: “Pilot to pilot. Your Majesty, you can be my wingman any time,” before saluting and banking off.

Muppets stars Kermit and Miss Piggy also gave speeches, with the frog saying he was “honoured” to have been invited to the coronation.

At the same time, 10 towns and cities across the country were treated to “spectacular” light displays, while 1,000 drones took to the sky for a UK-first “multi-location drone show”.

The light display included the Welsh dragon spanning 140 metres, beamed into the sky above Cardiff to the soundtrack of Paloma Faith singing Lullaby, while James Nesbitt performed a spoken word piece written by Daljit Nagra, chairman of the Royal Society of Literature.

Coronation Concert - in pictures

Hit makers including Katy Perry, who sang Roar and Firework, and Lionel Richie, who played renditions of Easy and All Night Long, entertained the 20,000-strong audience backed by a world-class 70-piece orchestra.

Take That then took to the stage with Greatest Day, Shine and, to close the show, Never Forget, featuring an intro from the Choristers of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The 300-strong Coronation Choir, conducted by Gareth Malone, performed an uplifting version of the Emeli Sande song Brighter Days, while Steve Winwood sang his hit song Higher Love, accompanied by the Commonwealth virtual choir with singers from more than 40 countries.

Light display to celebrate coronation of King Charles III - in pictures

The evening also saw a collaboration between five Royal patronages — the Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal College of Music and the Royal College of Art — who came together for the first time to perform Somewhere from West Side Story.

Other collaborations included Andrea Bocelli and Sir Bryn Terfel, who sang You’ll Never Walk Alone, and Lang Lang and Nicole Scherzinger, who performed Reflection from Mulan.

Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg

Coronation concert: Global superstars perform at Windsor spectacular

Ten cities across the country also enjoyed drone light displays

Coronation Concert - in pictures

Light display to celebrate coronation of King Charles III - in pictures

Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?