In anticipation of King Charles’ coronation, preparations are being made and big plans have been drawn to celebrate the new head of the Crown in the United Kingdom. 

As is customary, part of the Coronation Big Lunch on May 6th includes an entertainment component, but according to multiple reports, there seems to be a shortage of artists willing to perform for the massive national event.

As is to be expected, lots of what is being planned is kept strictly under wraps, but if reports are to be believed, the list of artists who have reportedly refused to perform include some of the UK’s biggest - Adele, Harry Styles, Elton John, Robbie Williams and the Spice Girls. 

UK singer Ed Sheeran, who has previously performed for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee back in June 2022 has reportedly also declined to sing for the celebration.

For the sake of allowing everyone to experience the festivities on the day, the BBC has also suspended their license fee for the weekend, because of the national importance of the event. This means everyone - regardless of whether they pay for access to the BBC’s content - with access to live television, will be able to watch.  The scale of the event would give any artist performing an important symbolic badge of honour for their career, as well as a significant audience watching. 

The event taking place at His Majesty’s Windsor Castle is expected to be a grand affair, with attendees ranging from the prime minister, other European royals and reigning rulers, to friends and distant relatives of the King, in a crowd of 2,000 people. However, it is currently unclear if Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex will be attending. 

With Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee peaking with 13.4 million viewers in the UK alone, the question now remains; will a last-minute A-Lister jump at the opportunity to perform at one of the most widely covered events of the decade so far?

It would be surprising, but not entirely unexpected for a non-UK artist to perform for one of the biggest celebrations, given the circumstances. In the past, international artists like Alicia Keys, Adam Lambert and Diana Ross have performed for similar events for the palace.

King Charles III is to be crowned alongside Camilla, Queen Consort on the first Saturday of May.