The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Thames Pageant, One of the Largest Ever Staged, to be Shown Live During the BBC's London Calling Season

LONDON, May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

As the spectacular Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations get underway, viewers of the BBC Channels around the World will be able to enjoy all the action live from the comfort of their own homes.

Taking place over three days from the beginning of June, the live coverage comes directly from BBC ONE in the UK and will be streamed to BBC viewers across the globe. The live coverage forms part of the vibrant LondonCalling^[1] season, which features exclusive dramas, comedies and documentaries that celebrate the wonderful city that is London.

On Sunday, 3^rd June, the Thames will host one of the biggest flotillas ever assembled in modern times in a joyous day of pageantry and revelry to kick-off the Queen's Diamond Jubilee festivities. BBC Entertainment will broadcast the spectacular proceedings live, following the Royal Flotilla as it glides from Chelsea Harbour to Tower Bridge.

Taking place at high water, The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Thames Pageant will amass more than one thousand vessels of all shapes and sizes from rowboats to steam boats to luxury yachts. Participants will have travelled from all over the UK, the Commonwealth countries and around the World to take part in this magnificent event. Music, spouting geysers, and 30,000 waving flags will fill the air with sound and colour as the Queen and the Royal Family float by on the Royal Barge.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Thames Pageant will be a quintessentially British celebration commemorating the Queen's remarkable 60-year reign. The BBC Channels will have comprehensive coverage of all the Jubilee events as part of the London Calling season, including The Queen'sDiamond Jubilee: Concert and The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Services of Thanksgiving and Royal Procession.

The two-month season of programming will be integrated digitally via http://www.londoncallingbbc.com, which features an interactive map of the city that offers guided tours, games, and exclusive prizes.

Notes to Editors

London Calling will air between May and August^[2]on BBC Entertainment (Africa, Poland, the Nordic Region, Asia, India, Latin America and the channel's pan-European service^[3]), BBC Knowledge (Africa, Poland, the Nordic Region, Italy, Asia and Australia), BBC HD (Latin America, Poland, The Nordic region and Turkey), UKTV (Australia and New Zealand) and BBC World News (global). The season will also be available to users of BBC.com and to users of the global BBC iPlayer but will vary territory by territory.

^[1] Programming, dates and times vary according to territory

^[2] Dates vary according to territory

^[3] BBC Entertainment's pan-European service covers Central and Eastern Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and a number of Western European markets

To find out when all the Diamond Jubilee coverage and other programmes like TheDiamond Queen and Sherlock series 1 and 2 air in your region, please visit http://www.londoncallingbbc.com or your local BBC website.

Keredy Andrews, [email protected], +44-1858-411600

SOURCE BBC Worldwide Channels