The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a com ...

held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal family. The evening's performance is presented as a live

, usually from a theatre in London and consists of family entertainment that includes

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term ori ...

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

, dance, magic and other speciality acts. The ''Royal Variety Performance'' traditionally begins with the entrance of the members of the royal family followed by singing of the national anthem,

God Save the King "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, ...

, which was also performed by the participating acts as a traditional end to Royal Variety Performances; with the exception of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, as a result of which, As If We Never Said Goodbye opened that year's show instead, sung by that year's host, Jason Manford.

Background and founding

The first performance, on 1 July 1912, was called the

Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

, and this name has persisted informally for the event. This was held in the Palace Theatre,

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly C ...

, London, in the presence of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...

and Queen Mary. After correspondence with theatre impresario Sir Edward Moss, the King said he would command a Royal Variety show in his Coronation year, 1911, provided the profits went to the Variety Artistes' Benevolent Fund, as the Royal Variety Charity was then known. It was planned to be in the Empire Theatre,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, part of the vast

Moss Empires Moss Empires was a company formed in Edinburgh in 1899, from the merger of the theatre companies owned by Sir Edward Moss, Richard Thornton and Sir Oswald Stoll. This created the largest chain of variety theatres and music halls in the United ...

group, but the building caught on fire a month before the show. After the death of Moss, Sir Alfred Butt was chosen as the impresario and it was staged in 1912.Graeme Smith (2011) ''Alhambra Glasgow'' This was a lavish occasion, and his London Palace Theatre was lavishly decorated, complete with some 3 million rose petals.

Artists and performers

Top performers included Vesta Tilley, Sir George Robey, David Devant,

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20t ...

, Harry Lauder and

Cecilia Loftus Cecilia Loftus (born Marie Cecilia Loftus Brown; 22 October 1876 – 12 July 1943) was a Scottish actress, singer, mimic, vaudevillian, and music hall performer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life Loftus was born in Glasgow, ...

. The organisers did not invite

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as "Th ...

, because of a professional dispute. Her act was deemed too risqué and her three public, unsuccessful marriages were thought to make her unfit to perform in front of royalty. She held a rival performance in a nearby theatre, which she advertised was "by command of the British public". The name of the event was changed to prevent possible royal embarrassment. The Royal Variety Performance became an annual event at the suggestion of King George V from 1921 and from 1927 the

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

began to broadcast it on radio. From 1928 through to 1938, the impresario-producer and manager of the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

, George Black, took over the presentation of the Royal Variety Performance. He would also facilitate as compere at the shows. His first production was held on 1 March 1928 at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

and from 1930 to 1937 he held the shows at the

. His 1938 show returned to the

. Throughout World War II from 1939 to 1944 no shows were presented. The show resumed in 1945 after the war ended. From 1960 to 2010, the BBC and ITV broadcast a recorded version of the show, alternating the production between their two main channels, with the BBC producing and televising the 'even years' and ITV televising the 'odd years'. In both 1976 and 1978, the BBC broadcast the show live. The show was staged mainly in a

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194– ...

. Prior to 1999, only two shows were staged outside London (1955 in Blackpool and 1959 in Manchester), but since becoming the exclusive broadcaster, ITV has staged the show in regional theatres outside London. From 2011, ITV have exclusive rights to televise the show. The show has been frequently staged in the

theatre, and in the 1950s and 1960s a television show based on the same idea, called '' Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' and hosted by many entertainers, including

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night ...

, ran for over 20 years. A wide range of acts has performed at the Royal Variety Performance, including

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo ...

in 1947,

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

in 1963,

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

in 1968 and the Blue Man Group in 2005. Max Bygraves and

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

are two of the most frequent performers, having appeared at least 14 and 13 times each respectively between 1950 and 2008.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

appeared at the 1963 show, when

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

delivered the famous line: The money raised by the Royal Variety Performance provides most of the funding for the Royal Variety Charity (formerly the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund) and its care-home for retired members of the entertainment profession and their dependents, Brinsworth House. In 1974, Noele Gordon presented the Royal Variety Performance making her the first female presenter of the show.

Performances

After the first Royal Variety Performance on 1 July 1912 presented by Sir Alfred Butt, it was seven years before the next show, on 28 July 1919 held at the

Coliseum Theatre The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

presented this time by Sir Oswald Stoll. The orchestra was conducted by

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

. In 1921 it moved to the

Hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used ...

, and was held in November. It was the first time that the Royal Variety Performance became an annual event. In 1923 it moved to the

. Then after a gap in 1924, moved to the

Alhambra Theatre The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...

in February 1925, where it remained in 1926, held on 27 May. It was the first Royal Variety Performance to be broadcast, with the BBC providing live radio coverage. In 1927 there was another move, this time to the

Victoria Palace Theatre The Victoria Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, opposite Victoria Station. The structure is categorised as a Grade II* listed building. History Origins The theatre began life as a small conc ...

, with J. A. Webb the compère. The 1928 show, on 13 December, was held at the

. The next show, on 22 May 1930, moved to the

with George Black and

Val Parnell Valentine Charles Parnell (14 February 1892 – 22 September 1972) was a British television managing director and presenter, actor and theatrical impresario. A former staple of stage production, his career in television started with the launc ...

compèring. It was the start of seven successive years at the venue. In 1935 the Royal Variety Performance was held in the Silver Jubilee year of

and Queen Mary. This was the last time King George V attended – he died three months later, in January 1936. There have been two Royal Scottish Variety Performances, both attended by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, and presented by Howard & Wyndham Ltd in Glasgow's

, which Sir Alfred Butt had opened, in 1958 and 1963. The Children's Royal Variety Performance was devised by entertainer

Rod Hull Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to: Devices * Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment * Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority * Connecting rod, main, coupling ...

in 1981 and took place in London until 1994 in aid of

NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Y ...

. In 1990, ''A Royal Birthday Gala'' to celebrate the 90th birthday of

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was th ...

, was staged at the London Palladium on 19 July, replacing the traditional November/December Royal Variety Show that year. In place of the traditional show, a special programme called ''Thirty Years of the Royal Variety Performance'' aired on BBC One on 29 December 1990. It was hosted by

and took a look back at the BBC's television broadcasts of the programme over 30 years, with clips from the archives. After this variation, from 1991, the traditional variety show returned. However in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, a virtual version was held, opening with a virtual message from the then

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

followed by "As If We Never Said Goodbye" sung by that year's host Jason Manford.

''Britain's Got Talent''

Since 2007, one act of the Royal Variety show has been selected by the British public through the ITV television

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

''. A public telephone vote decides the most popular act in each semi-final, which then progresses to the final, along with a second act chosen by the judges. The grand final is then broadcast live and all the acts perform again for the public vote.

Winners

* 2007:

Paul Potts Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is an English tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of "Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music, Po ...

– pop opera

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors i ...

* 2008: George Sampson –

street dance Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, Locking (dance), locking, house dance, waacking etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically ...

r * 2009: Diversity – street dance group * 2010: Spelbound –

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

squad * 2011:

Jai McDowall Jai McDowall (born 24 July 1986) is a Scottish singer–songwriter who won the fifth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in June 2011. As the winner, he received £100,000 and performed at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance. McDowall was signed ...

– singer * 2012:

Ashleigh and Pudsey Ashleigh and Pudsey was a British dog trick act, comprising trainer Ashleigh Jade Butler (born 7 February 1995) and Pudsey (28 December 2005 – 20 July 2017), a male Border Collie, Bichon Frise, and Chinese Crested powderpuff cross. They achie ...

–

musical canine freestyle Musical canine freestyle, also known as musical freestyle, freestyle dance, and canine freestyle, is a modern dog sport that is a mixture of obedience training, tricks, and dance that allows for creative interaction between dogs and their owner ...

* 2013: Attraction –

shadow theatre The Shadow Theatre is an Edmonton-based theatre company born of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in 1990. History Shadow Theatre was incorporated in 1992, operating under the governance of a volunteer Board of Directors. Co founded by ...

group * 2014:

Collabro Collabro were a UK-based musical theatre group and winners of the eighth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2014. The group consisted of Michael Auger, Jamie Lambert, Matthew Pagan and Thomas J. Redgrave. Richard Hadfield left the band in J ...

– singing group * 2015: Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse –

* 2016:

Richard Jones Richard Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *F. Richard Jones (1893–1930), American filmmaker *Dick Clair (Richard Jones, 1931–1988), American producer, actor and TV writer *Richard Jones (The Feeling), British bass guitarist *Richard J ...

– magician * 2017: Tokio Myers –

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

* 2018: Lee Ridley (Lost Voice Guy) –

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

* 2019:

Colin Thackery Warrant Officer Class 2 Colin Thackery (born 9 March 1930) is a British Korean War veteran and singer who won the thirteenth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in June 2019. As the winner, he received £250,000 and performed at the 2019 Royal Va ...

– singer * 2020: Jon Courtenay – comical singer and pianist * 2022: Axel Blake – comedian

Venues

There have been a total of 17 theatres that have staged the 93 ''Royal Variety Performances'', and the ''1912 Royal Command Performance''. Out of the total of 93 shows, 75 have been in London theatres and seven in other cities and towns. ''Note: Where no town or city is noted in the theatre column in the following table, the venue is situated in London.''

Royal Family attendance

A total of 17 members of the royal family have attended the 86 ''Royal Variety Performances'', and the ''1912 Royal Command Performance''.

Television coverage

The performance is broadcast on television throughout the world and is considered by many to be a tradition of the Christmas and New Year holiday season, particularly within the 53 countries of the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...

. For example, in Norway the programme is broadcast on NRK following the chimes of midnight each

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the December 31, last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly ...

with Norwegian subtitles and in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean Islands and the Bahamas it is broadcast during the afternoon of Christmas Day, every year. In Canada, it has aired on CBC variously on Boxing Day,

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

. ITV is contracted by the Royal Variety Charity for TV production and in the UK is the sole broadcaster, having shared that responsibility with the BBC between 1960 and 2010.

Ratings

In the 1960s, the televised edition of the show was the number one rated show for the entire year in the UK in 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967 and 1968, with the show ranked 6th in 1964, 3rd in 1966 and 2nd in 1969. In the 1970s, the show topped the annual rankings in 1975 and ranked 8th in 1970, 4th in 1971, 9th in 1976 and 3rd in 1977. Ratings sourced from BARB. Notes: : 6.75 million on ITV, 564,000 on ITV HD and 293,000 on ITV +1. : 8.05 million on ITV, 767,000 on ITV HD and 422,000 on ITV +1. : 7.07 million on ITV, 832,000 on ITV HD and 398,000 on ITV +1. : 6.31 million on ITV, 919,000 on ITV HD and 413,000 on ITV +1.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.royalvarietycharity.org/
History of the Royal Variety Performance
Recurring events established in 1912 1912 establishments in the United Kingdom British royal family ITV (TV network) original programming BBC Television shows British variety television shows Annual events in the United Kingdom Music festivals in London