Queen's Platinum Jubilee: Ed Sheeran, corgis and giant dragon to star in pageant show

Organisers have released more details of a pageant to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Highlights include a 20-foot puppet of the young princess Elizabeth surrounded by corgis, a huge puppet dragon and a concert headlined by Ed Sheeran.

The pageant is set to take place on 5 June to mark the Queen's 70 years on the throne.

More than 800 events are planned over four days, including a weekend and two bank holidays.

Organisers have released details of the four acts which make up the pageant, which will go down The Mall - a road in central London with Buckingham Palace at one end and Trafalgar Square at the other.

Act 1: For Queen and country

Life Guards, members of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, will make up the first part of the procession which is expected to feature 200 horses in total

The pageant will begin with the ringing of the Westminster Abbey bells as they did on the Queen's coronation day.

A military parade will follow featuring the Army, the RAF and the Royal Navy along with bands and pipers.

Organisers say there will be 1,750 people and 200 horses, making it one of the largest military spectacles in modern history.

Personnel from across the Commonwealth including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, Ghana, Belize, Jamaica and Sri Lanka will take part.

Act 2: The time of our lives

This through-the-ages celebration will explore seven decades of music, fashion, trends, and culture from 1952 to 2022.

It will feature a cast of 2,500 members of the public - with the oldest being 99.

Musicians, chefs, sports personalities and artists, including Ed Sheeran, chef Heston Blumenthal and former footballer and presenter Gary Lineker will also be joining this part of the procession.

And 11-year-old drummer and Newsround star Nandi Bushell will play a major part as one of the 'icons of the future'.

Five hundred vintage cars, motorbikes and bicycles, as well as Daleks, James Bond cars and an open top double decker bus will also join the parade.

Act 3 - Let's celebrate

This giant dragon puppet, called the hatchling, will meet a young dancing princess!

A play made up of 12 chapters will tell the story of the Queen's reign in the third part of the pageant. This will include:

• A giant puppet dragon - the size of a double decker bus! - who will meet a young dancing princess. The dragon will be operated by a team of more than 18 puppeteers.

• A Bollywood take on Princess Elizabeth's wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, which will include a giant four-tier wedding cake being 'baked' by acrobatic cooks on the move.

• An Afro-Caribbean carnival-style interpretation of the Queen's 1953 coronation with an array of colourful animal costumes.

• 200 designs by school children from across the Commonwealth made into flags to be danced in a 'River of Hope'.

There will be puppet corgis to represent the beloved dogs which the Queen has had ever since she was little

• Some representations of the Queen's favourite animals, including puppet corgis and her beloved childhood pony Peggy.

• In the 11th chapter, called Unity, able-bodied and disabled circus artists will perform. BMX stunt cyclists will jump onto moving Land Rovers, and performers will carry out feats against a trampoline wall.

• The final chapter will feature key workers as a thank you to the role they played during the pandemic.

Act 4: Happy and glorious

Cirque Bijou are taking part in a play about the Queen's life

A musical finale will take place in front of Buckingham Palace.

The public who have come to watch will be invited to sing the national anthem and Ed Sheeran will lead a special tribute to the Queen.

What do you think of the plans for the Queen's Jubilee? Are you excited? Let us know in the comments.