After a rain-soaked finale to a river pageant to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, the stage was

set Monday for a star-studded pop concert outside Buckingham Palace. The line-up for the music event, due to kick off at 7:30 pm (1830 GMT), includes pop legends Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Cliff Richard, Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey. British veteran pop band Madness will perform their hit Our House on the roof of Buckingham Palace, where guitarist Brian May gave his rendition of God Save the Queen for the Golden Jubilee 10 years ago. The televised Diamond Jubilee Concert will feature Sing, a special song performed by 200 artists from Commonwealth countries, which was co-written by Gary Barlow of pop group Take That and musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. After the concert, Queen Elizabeth II will walk on to the stage to greet the crowds and set ablaze the national beacon - the last of around 4,000 to be lit around Britain and in Commonwealth nations. On Sunday, an estimated 1.2 million people braved cool temperatures and heavy rain showers in London to watch a nautical tribute to the queen, as a flotilla of 1,000 boats sailed down the river Thames. The queen, 86, stood up on deck of the royal barge, The Spirit of Chartwell, throughout the duration of the spectacle, which lasted more than three hours. Towards the end, spectators and performers were drenched in downpours which, according to some commentators, helped to make the display a "very British" event. Organizers said they were hopeful for dryer weather Monday. Monday's concert will take place on a huge stage built around the Queen Victoria memorial fountain in front of Buckingham Palace. The stage is covered by a plastic roof shaped like a crown. The audience of 10,000 is made up of people who won tickets in a public ballot or had links to charities backed by royal patrons. Ticket holders will be treated to a special picnic in the grounds of Buckingham Palace ahead of the concert, each receiving a luxury food hamper that includes a small Union Jack flag and a plastic poncho to shield against the weather. A total of 4,200 Diamond Jubilee beacons will be lit across Britain during Monday's celebrations. Of them, 75 will be ignited in Commonwealth countries, starting on the South Pacific island of Tonga. The beacon network includes the Treetops Hotel in Aberdare national park in Kenya, where the then 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth learned of the premature death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. dpa aet jln Author: Anna Tomforde