Martin Lewis, Dame Shirley Bassey, Idris Elba and Sir Cliff Richard set to ride buses at Pageant

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Martin Lewis, Sir Cliff Richard, Gary Lineker, Dame Shirley Bassey and Idris Elba are among the 150 celebrities set to travel in double decker buses to pay homage to the Queen‘s final day of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The colourful open top buses will each mark the seven decades of Her Majesty’s reign, which will each be adorned with images and famous slogans from the time, including ‘Groovy’ from the 1970s and ‘Girl Power’ – brought into the mainstream by British pop icons The Spice Girls in the 1990s.

The decade-by-decade celebrations will see actors, presenters, sport stars and singers, parade London from the top of the buses, while a fleet of more than 200 classic vehicles, including Del Boy’s Robin Reliant and James Bond cars will also follow. 

Sam McKnight, who was Princess Diana’s hairstylist from 1990 until her death in 1997,  posted a picture alongside supermodels Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and celebrity make-up guru Charlotte Tilbury captioned: ‘Boarding the 90s bus in the Platinum Pageant.’

Money-saving expert Martin Lewis will also appear on the 2000’s bus and said he is ‘planning to take in every moment’, whilst Gary Lineker tweeted a picture alongside Pudsey Bear saying it was a ‘career highlight’.  

Martin Lewis, Dame Shirley Bassey, Idris Elba and Sir Cliff Richard set to ride buses at Pageant

Martin Lewis, Sir Cliff Richard, Gary Lineker, Dame Shirley Bassey and Idris Elba are among the 150 celebrities set to travel in double decker buses to pay homage to the Queen ‘s final day of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations

Gary Lineker tweeted a picture alongside Pudsey Bear saying it was a 'career highlight'

Gary Lineker tweeted a picture alongside Pudsey Bear saying it was a ‘career highlight’

Kate Garraway was stood next to former television presenter, Anthea Turner, Alan Titchmarsh and Rudolph Walker, who plays Patrick Bateman in EastEnders

Kate Garraway was stood next to former television presenter, Anthea Turner, Alan Titchmarsh and Rudolph Walker, who plays Patrick Bateman in EastEnders

Alan Titchmarsh was sporting a red tie, white shirt and blue suit - whilst Kate Garraway donned a Union Jack scarf

Alan Titchmarsh was sporting a red tie, white shirt and blue suit – whilst Kate Garraway donned a Union Jack scarf

Money-saving expert Martin Lewis (Pictured with his wife Lara) is also set to be on the 2000's bus and said he is 'planning to take in every moment'

Money-saving expert Martin Lewis (Pictured with his wife Lara) is also set to be on the 2000’s bus and said he is ‘planning to take in every moment’

Kate Garraway was also stood on the bus, sporting a Union Jack scarf, alongside former television presenter, Anthea Turner, Alan Titchmarsh and Rudolph Walker, who plays Patrick Bateman in EastEnders. 

Sir Cliff Richard is set to appear on a 1950s bus during the pageant this afternoon and said it is a ‘great time to show gratitude’ to the 96-year-old monarch and British public. 

Speaking on Sky News, he said: ‘I think I’m looking forward and hoping to people waving and looking up at me. It’s going to be difficult for people to pick out and find their various favourites. 

‘The bus is full of people that I’ve grown up with as well and love, watched, and played with. So it would be wonderful if a fan or two were to wave directly at me. 

We’re all ready to wave at all these people who have given us lives when you think about it. I sometimes wake up in the homes, I have two, and I sometimes think, ‘How the heck did I get here?’ 

‘So we have to show our gratitude and it’s a great time to show it, not only to the Queen but the massive public that support all of us – actors, dancers, singers – everybody. So I’m looking forward to being with fans and other people’s fans as well.’ 

Martin Lewis, Sir Cliff Richard, Gary Lineker, Dame Shirley Bassey and Idris Elba are among the 150 celebrities set to travel in double decker buses to pay homage to the Queen 's final day of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations

Martin Lewis, Sir Cliff Richard, Gary Lineker, Dame Shirley Bassey and Idris Elba are among the 150 celebrities set to travel in double decker buses to pay homage to the Queen ‘s final day of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations

Buses for the decades at Horse Guards Parade ahead of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in London, on day four of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the Queen. Sunday June 5, 2022

Buses for the decades at Horse Guards Parade ahead of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in London, on day four of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the Queen. Sunday June 5, 2022

Some 10,000 people including a cast of 6,000 performers are involved in staging the spectacular two-mile carnival route from Horse Guards, along Whitehall to Admiralty Arch and down The Mall to Buckingham Palace

Some 10,000 people including a cast of 6,000 performers are involved in staging the spectacular two-mile carnival route from Horse Guards, along Whitehall to Admiralty Arch and down The Mall to Buckingham Palace

Two bus preservation enthusiasts have described their delight at taking part in the Platinum Jubilee Pageant.

Richard Dixon, 63, and Ivan Fisher, 42, co-own one of the buses – the 1950s bus – with their friend John Stewart which is taking part in the decorated open-top double-decker bus parade for the decade-by-decade celebration. Mr Dixon will be a ticket conductor on the 1950s bus while Mr Fisher will be driving the 2000s bus.

Mr Fisher, who is a funeral director, said: ‘It took us nine hours to get here from Norwich as she’s got a top speed of 32mph.

‘We came Thursday last week so that they could decorate them and put the wraps on them. It took nine men nine hours for each bus. The gentleman who owns the 2000s bus was approached by the pageant committee and asked if he knew of anyone who could contribute a bus, and we jumped at the chance because it’s a big privilege to be involved.’

The Jubilee pageant is split into four acts: For Queen and Country with a military parade; The Time of Our Lives progressing through seven decades of culture, music and fashion; Let’s Celebrate telling the story of the Queen’s life in 12 chapters with corgi puppets and carnival creations; and the Happy and Glorious musical spectacle. 

A royal themed float due to be used in the Pageant waiting in Westminster this morning, June 5, 2022

A royal themed float due to be used in the Pageant waiting in Westminster this morning, June 5, 2022

Spectators wait on the Mall, ahead of the start of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, June 5, 2022

Spectators wait on the Mall, ahead of the start of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, June 5, 2022

Participants prepare at Horse Guards Parade ahead of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, June 5, 2022

Participants prepare at Horse Guards Parade ahead of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, June 5, 2022

Some 10,000 people including a cast of 6,000 performers are involved in staging the spectacular two-mile carnival route from Horse Guards, along Whitehall to Admiralty Arch and down The Mall to Buckingham Palace, echoing Her Majesty’s 1953 coronation procession.

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It is not known if the 96-year-old monarch will make an appearance at today’s pageant, after she pulled out of two Jubilee events amid concerns for her health. However, Princes Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and other members of the royal family are expected to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the end of the 2½-hour procession.

A peloton of 300 cyclists, riding vintage bikes from across the seven decades of the Queen’s reign, is to travel down The Mall led by Sir Chris Hoy and cycling golden couple Dame Laura and Sir Jason Kenny.

Close to 200 national treasures will take to the stage to serenade the Queen by singing the national anthem at the grand finale of the Platinum Jubilee festivities.

Spectators cross the Mall, ahead of the start of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, June 5, 2022

Spectators cross the Mall, ahead of the start of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, June 5, 2022

A small child cleans a car at Horse Guards Parade ahead of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, June 5, 2022

A small child cleans a car at Horse Guards Parade ahead of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, June 5, 2022

Stars including Sir David Jason, Harry Redknapp, Sandie Shaw, Felicity Kendal, Joe Wicks and Holly Willoughby will join Ed Sheeran in a mass rendition of God Save The Queen outside Buckingham Palace at the end of the pageant.

Sheeran will also perform his love song Perfect at the Jubilee Pageant in a special moving tribute to the Queen and her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

At the finale of the carnival procession through the streets of London on Sunday, ahead of the National Anthem, the star will sing the hit romantic ballad as footage featuring images of the Queen and Philip fills the giant screens around the stage.

Among the cast of colourful characters preparing to take part in the Jubilee parade on Horse Guards is a group of Daleks from the sci-fi television programme Doctor Who, threatening passers-by that they will be ‘exterminated’ as they roll along with cultural icons from the 1960s in the decade-by-decade Time of Our Lives act of the pageant.

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