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 comp� ...

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. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

. 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 dramatic 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. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

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

God Save the King "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is ''de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of national anthems of New Zealand, two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle ...

", 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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. After each performance, the performer bows twice, one to the audience and then to the Royal Family.

Background and founding

The first performance, on 1 July 1912, was called the Royal Command Performance, and this name has persisted informally for the event. This was held in the Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, 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. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

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 is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, part of the vast Moss Empires 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 three million rose petals.

Artists, performers and broadcasts

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

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...

, Harry Lauder and Cecilia Loftus. The organisers did not invite Marie Lloyd, 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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

began to broadcast it on radio. From 1928 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 Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

, 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, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...

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. 1194–1195, ...

. Prior to 1999, only two shows were staged outside London (1955 in Blackpool and 1959 in Manchester), but in 2003, 2005, 2007 & 2009, Royal Varieties were aired on ITV from regional theatres outside London. ITV secured exclusive rights to televise the show in 2011. 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 an English entertainer and television presenter whose career spanned more than 75 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the Associated Te ...

, 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 double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

in 1947,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

in 1963,

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

in 1968 and

the Blue Man Group Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in New York City in 1987. It is known for its stage productions that incorporate many kinds of music and art, both popular and obscure. Its performers, known as Blue Men, have their ...

in 2005. Max Bygraves and

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

are two of the most frequent performers, having appeared at least 14 and 13 times each respectively between 1950 and 2008. The Beatles 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 activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

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 Joan Noele Gordon (25 December 1919 – 14 April 1985) was an English actress and television presenter, of Scottish descent. She played the role of Meg Mortimer (originally Richardson, later Ryder) in the long-running British soap opera ''Crossr ...

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 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 Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". The term hippodroming refers to fr ...

, 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 Coliseum Theatre. Then after a gap in 1924, moved to the Alhambra Theatre 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, with J. A. Webb the compère. The 1928 show, on 13 December, was held at the Coliseum Theatre. The next show, on 22 May 1930, moved to the

with George Black and Val Parnell 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 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, and presented by Howard & Wyndham Ltd in Glasgow's Alhambra Theatre, which Sir Alfred Butt had opened, in 1958 and 1963. The Children's Royal Variety Performance was devised by entertainer Rod Hull 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 founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies t ...

. 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 al ...

, 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. In 2018 the show was hosted by comedian Greg Davies and performed six months after the marriage of

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to t ...

who attended it with his new wife. This year's aftershow party and banquet was held with entertainment from magicians, such as Jay & Joss and popular band, The Masqueraders. 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 (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

followed by "As If We Never Said Goodbye" sung by that year's host Jason Manford. The Royal Variety performance of 2023, held in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, was hosted by Bradley Walsh. The headline act was performed by

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

''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 '' Britain's Got Talent''. 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 – pop opera

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

* 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, voguing, etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created o ...

r * 2009:

Diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

– street dance group * 2010:

Spelbound Spelbound are a Gymnastics, gymnastic troupe from the United Kingdom who rose to fame in 2010, winning Britain's Got Talent (series 4), the fourth series of ''Britain's Got Talent''. The prize was £100,000 and the opportunity to appear at the 20 ...

–

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

squad * 2011: Jai McDowall – singer * 2012: Ashleigh and Pudsey – musical canine freestyle * 2013: Attraction – shadow theatre group * 2014: Collabro – singing group * 2015: Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse – musical canine freestyle * 2016: Richard Jones – magician * 2017: Tokio Myers –

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

* 2018: Lee Ridley (Lost Voice Guy) –

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

* 2019: Colin Thackery – singer * 2020: Jon Courtenay – comical singer and pianist * 2022: Axel Blake – comedian * 2023: Viggo Venn – comedian * 2024: Sydnie Christmas – singer * 2025: Harry Moulding – Magician

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 56 countries of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

. 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 refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

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 Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

. 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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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 1960–1963, 1965, and 1967–1968, 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 Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

Notes

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 British variety television shows Annual events in the United Kingdom Music festivals in London BBC Television Service (TV network) original programming BBC One original programming