Ed Sheeran reflects on coming full circle ahead of Platinum Jubilee celebrations

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Ed Sheeran has revealed how past Jubilee celebrations inspired his musical career ahead of his performance at the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on Sunday.

Sheeran, 31, is among a number of famous faces lined up to perform at the Platinum Pageant, which involves 10,000 people, including the military, more than 6,000 volunteers, performers, key workers and 2,500 members of the public.

In a post on Instagram, the singer wrote: “20 years ago I decided I wanted to pick up a guitar because I watched the Golden Jubilee on TV, saw Eric Clapton play Layla and said, ‘that’s what I wanna do’.

“10 years later I played The A Team at the Diamond Jubilee, and now 10 years on I’m playing the Platinum Jubilee this Sunday.

“Life is weird how it keeps coming full circle in lovely ways. Tune in on Sunday and see ya there x”

Sheeran is set to perform his song Perfect during Sunday’s celebrations, as a tribute to the Queen and her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

The song was originally released in 2017 on the singer’s Divide album.

The Platinum Pageant will take place against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace and its surrounding streets on the afternoon of Sunday June 5 – the last day of the four-day bank holiday weekend marking the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.

The event is expected to bring to life iconic moments from the Queen’s 70-year reign and showcase how society has changed over the past seven decades.

Highlights will include an aerial artist suspended under a vast helium balloon, known as a heliosphere, bearing the image of the Queen.

Other key moments will be a giant oak tree flanked with maypole dancers, a huge moving wedding cake sounding out Bollywood hits, a towering dragon and three-storey-high beasts.

At one stage, the Queen will be imagined in her younger days with a 20ft puppet of a youthful princess, barefoot and carefree, surrounded by a pack of mischievous puppet corgis along The Mall.

A number of celebrities will take part in the finale, when Ed Sheeran will appear on stage to lead his special tribute to the Queen.

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant will take place on June 5 and air on BBC One from 1pm.