King Charles's coronation concert offers 10,000 free tickets in ballot

The future King Charles on a big screen at the last major royal concert, for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, in 2022

A ballot has opened for 10,000 free tickets for a star-studded concert at Windsor Castle to mark the King's coronation.

The televised show will be on 7 May, the day after King Charles is crowned at Westminster Abbey.

The BBC has promised the line-up will feature "musical icons and contemporary stars".

There are 5,000 pairs of tickets in the ballot, which opened at 07:00 GMT on Friday and will close on 28 February.

Each applicant in the ballot will be able to nominate a guest.

People must be 18 or over to apply for a ticket, with the guests required to be over 11.

The tickets would be allocated based on the geographical spread of the UK population, the BBC said, with those successful notified by late April.

'Momentous occasion'

The castle's east lawn would see "a world-class orchestra play interpretations of musical favourites fronted by fantastic entertainers, alongside performers from the world of dance and the arts", the BBC said.

It "will also feature a selection of spoken-word sequences delivered by stars of stage and screen", a statement added.

The evening event will last for two to three hours, with the full line-up to be confirmed later.

More tickets will be made available to a range of charities and the event will be broadcast on BBC TV, radio and online.

BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore said: "The coronation concert on the BBC will bring the nation together to mark this momentous occasion and we are thrilled to be able to offer the public the opportunity to be part of the event at Windsor Castle through a national ballot, as well as providing audiences with exclusive coverage across TV and radio."