Stars rock Buckingham Palace in Jubilee pop concert

12.00pm

LONDON - Patriotic festivities in Britain celebrating Queen Elizabeth's 50th year on the throne hit a high note today with an all-star pop concert rocking the normally sedate gardens of her Buckingham Palace residence.

Brian May, guitarist of legendary British rock band Queen, started the party with a solo rendition of the national anthem, God Save the Queen, on top of the palace roof.

The line-up also included Ricky Martin, Ozzy Osbourne, former Beatle Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Phil Collins and a host of other singers, comedians and celebrities.

"I've never seen a gig like it," said comedian Ben Elton, one of the concert hosts. "Here we are with Buckingham Palace behind us in the gardens, 12,000 punters have won a ticket -- I think it's marvellous."

The Party at the Palace was the culmination of a day of street parties and parades honouring the 76-year-old monarch on the third of four days of festivities which have confounded cynics' predictions they would prove a damp squib.

More than 150,000 gathered in Pall Mall outside the palace, many camping out from the early hours in tents to guarantee a good view of the giant screens showing the concert.

Inside the palace, the lucky 12,000 who won tickets in a lottery enjoyed a special Jubilee hamper, including champagne and strawberries, on the lawn beforehand.

"I'm have had some good times in my life, but I never thought it would get as good as this, dining in the gardens of Buckingham Palace at the queen's expense," said John Renton, a 67-year-old retired factory worker from the northern city of Sunderland.

Members of the royal family watched proceedings from the royal box along with a host of celebrities and public figures including Prime Minister Tony Blair.

In a repeat of a classical concert held at the palace on Saturday, Prince Charles' longtime companion Camilla Parker Bowles was also seated in the box -- but not beside the prince.

The only sour note of the Golden Jubilee celebrations so far was a brief fire at Buckingham Palace on Sunday night which required the building to be evacuated and interrupted preparations for the musical extravaganza.

Despite a typically miserable, drizzling day, many held street parties in honour of their monarch, and crowds gathered in Windsor, just outside London where the royals have another palace, to catch a glimpse of the queen at a parade.

"We want to fetch everybody together, as there is a lack of community spirit in general," said Doris Hester, 49, the organiser of a small street party in north London. The parties echoed similar events held for the Silver Jubilee 25 years ago.

While numbers were smaller and attitudes less reverential than in 1977, the response to Jubilee year has heartened a royal family beset by scandal and tragedy in recent years.

After the concert, the queen was due to light the last of nearly 2000 royal beacons from Lands End to John O'Groats in Britain, and Antarctica to Zambia abroad, and then watch three tonnes of fireworks being set off from the roof of the palace.

Earlier in the day she inaugurated a national music festival to celebrate the rich variety of cultures not just across her country but throughout the 54-nation Commonwealth.

The Jubilee gala continues on Tuesday with pomp and pageantry as the queen travels to St Paul's Cathedral in a sumptuous gilded carriage, and winds up with a balcony appearance back at the palace.

The queen's 50th anniversary celebrations have deepened affection for her and brought a wave of nostalgia in Britain as people look back over the five decades she has ruled.

It has been a welcome moment of happiness for the queen, who lost both her sister Margaret and her 101-year-old mother this year.

Although overshadowed by the nationwide show of patriotism, anti-royalists did their best not to be outdone.

One group called the Movement Against the Monarchy (MA'M) organised an "Execute the Queen" party while another, "Stuff the Monarchy", declared a people's republic in a Welsh social club.

- REUTERS