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A star studded concert celebrates 30 years of The Prince's Trust at Tower of London

19th May 2006

A star-studded concert featuring some of Britain‘s best known pop acts marked the 30th anniversary of the Prince‘s Trust tonight.

The glittering cast of performers entertained The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Princes William and Harry and an audience of 2,000 in the historic grounds of the Tower of London.

Among the musicians on stage tonight were Ozzy Osbourne, Will Young, The Sugababes, Ronan Keating, The Bee Gees, Lionel Richie and Pink.

The Prince, who is the President and Founder of The Prince's Trust, was joined by The Duchess of Cornwall and Princes William and Harry at the special concert.

The Prince's Trust was established by The Prince in 1976 to offer support by training, mentoring and financial assistance to help young people overcome barriers and achieve their potential.

Robin and Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees performed Jive Talking to open the show.

Next on stage were McFly, who started with a cover of Thin Lizzy‘s The Boys are Back In Town which was greeted by huge applause by the audience.

Highlights of the concert were broadcast live on a show presented Ben Elton, Patrick Kielty, Vernon Kay and Kate Thornton.

Annie Lennox performed her hit Walking On Broken Glass then a moving rendition of There Must Be An Angel accompanied by a piano.

The crowd clapped along to the band Embrace and their rendition of the official England World Cup song - World At Your Feet.

American showman David Blaine made a surprise appearance on stage and told the concert's host, Cat Deeley, that the inspiration behind his stunts was similar to those behind The Prince's Trust.

Blaine, who recently failed in an attempt to break the world record for holding your breath under water, told the crowds: “Even if I fail it's not about failing or succeeding, it's about giving it my all.”

The television show featured an interview by Ant and Dec with The Prince of Wales and Princes William and Harry at Highgrove – the first time they have been interviewed together.

Last month The Trust launched its first national and public fundraising campaign to mark the charity's 30th anniversary. Viewers of the live television show were asked to donate money to help The Trust continue its work.

Rock's “Prince of Darkness”, Ozzy Osbourne, stole the show with his antics both on and off the stage whipping up the crowd and telling them to “shout.”

On stage Will Young spoke to Cat Deeley about his involvement with The Trust.

He said: “The reason I became an ambassador for The Prince's Trust is because of the variety of people they work with. It's a lot about confidence-building - if you don't have confidence it's very hard to be successful in life.”

Other acts who took to the stage included Sugababes, singer Ronan Keating and singer Pink. During the performance The Prince and The Duchess could be seen waving glow-sticks given to all members of the audience while William clapped his hands.

When Lionel Richie, 56, former lead singer with the Commodores, appeared to close the concert The Prince and The Duchess were back on their feet along with the hundreds of others in the crowd clapping their hands in time to the music.

At the end of the event The Prince took to the stage and said: “I must say this is the moment when I wish I could sing.”

When the crowd urged The Prince to perform to them, he said: “I know my limits, at least I have my glow-stick!”

He then went on to thank all the technicians and backroom staff that helped make the night possible.

The Prince also paid credit to “all those characters in The Prince's Trust over the last 30 years who have again made it all possible, there‘s not much I can do, I‘m only as good as the staff.

“We have seven or eight thousand volunteers around the country. They make it all happen, they are the ones, at the end of the day, who make all the difference to all the young people we've been trying to help.”

The Prince and The Duchess and Princes William and Harry went backstage after the show to meet and thank the stars.

Later, The Prince's Trust estimated that the concert has helped raise around £3 million for the charity.

Martina Milburn, Chief Executive of the Prince‘s Trust said: “It was a truly tremendous evening.

“We are absolutely delighted with the public's generous support. This money will save the lives of young people in the UK.”

Highlights from the concert were broadcast on a special fundraising show during Saturday evening and more than 70,000 viewers called the ITV1 studios and BT Tower to pledge their support.

A Trust spokesman said: “As well as raising awareness of The Prince's Trust's work among some seven million ITV1 viewers, early indications show that the event will raise in the region of £3 million to help change young lives.”

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