Britons are gearing up for four days of celebrations next week to mark the 60th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, her diamond jubilee. The celebrations will include a 1 hour, 45 minute concert on a special stage constructed outside Buckingham Palace, organized by the BBC and Gary Barlow of boy band Take That. The concert will be televised around the world, taking place on Tuesday at 15:45 local time.
Performers listed by the BBC include the United Kingdom’s Paul McCartney, Elton John, Robbie Williams, new artists Ed Sheeran and Jessie J, boy band JLS, and tenor Alfie Boe. Australia, Canada’s less populated Commonwealth cousin, will be represented at the concert care of a performance by Kylie Minogue. And the concert will feature an American artist despite the fact that the United States does not recognize the queen.
The lineup of recording artists who will be performing, as listed by the BBC, does not include any Canadians.
It is unknown whether Canadian recording artists were invited to perform and were unable to attend or were simply cold-shouldered.
Gary Barlow composed the song “Sing” to mark the celebration and made a “Commonwealth version”. This version features singers from across the U.K., Australia, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, Africa, but not Canada. If there is one commonality among all 35 million Canadians, it is that we do not appreciate being snubbed.
Richard
June 5, 2012 at 2:48 pm
I am a brit and completely agree with you. I had been wondering the same thing and that’s how I found this page. It’s quite strange that Canada (and also New Zealand) were not represented on the song and at the concert given how important these countries are to us. I can only guess it was due to ignorant organisers. However, they did take part in the Pageant the night before.
shawnpt
June 5, 2012 at 5:18 pm
It’s “interesting” that when the U.S. snubs Canada (George W. Bush didn’t mention us when thanking countries for helping out during the 9-11 attacks), the Canadian media makes a big ado about it. But when Britain (whose rule we’re under) excludes us, the media makes no mention of it whatsoever. Thanks for your comment, and best wishes to you.
Donna
June 5, 2012 at 9:57 pm
I’m very upset that no Canadian artists were asked to perform when American and Australian artists were . We have awesome artists that certainly are world class . That’s just too bad . Sometimes there are issues with the organizers. I certainly enjoyed Tom Jones , Elton John and Paul McCartney as well as Annie Lennox.
shawnpt
June 6, 2012 at 5:26 pm
We SHOULD be upset with this. It is not a matter of raining on the queen’s parade. By protesting and not letting this injustice go, we are actually honouring the queen.
Steve
June 6, 2012 at 5:45 am
I am certain that Shania Twain performed. An ExPat, admittedly, but Canadian none the less.
shawnpt
June 6, 2012 at 5:22 pm
Shania Twain did not perform at the concert. The list of performers in order of appearance is as follows:
Robbie Williams (British), will.i.am (American, non-Commonwealth), Jessie J (British), JLS (British), Gary Barlow (British), Cheryl Cole (British), Cliff Richard (British), Lang Lang (Chinese, non-Commonwealth), Alfie Boe (British), Jools Holland (British), Ruby Turner (Jamaican), Grace Jones (Jamaican), Ed Sheeran (British), Annie Lennox (British), Renée Fleming (American, non-Commonwealth), Tom Jones (British), Dame Shirley Bassey (British), Kylie Minogue (Australian), Elton John (British), Stevie Wonder (American, non-Commonwealth), Madness (British), and Paul McCartney (British).
Final count: 15 British, 3 Americans, 2 Jamaicans, 1 Chinese, 1 Australian, 0 Canadians.
Spock
June 7, 2012 at 8:03 pm
Where was Ozzy when all this went on???
shawnpt
June 8, 2012 at 6:52 am
Old Ozz must have been stuck on a Crazy Train in a Blizzard on his way to the show or perhaps he was visiting Vancouver and got caught in Black Rain, having to Walk on Water.