A special live event will take place at the Royal Albert Hall to mark Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday.
David Attenborough’s 100 Years on Planet Earth will air on Friday 8th May (his birthday) at 8.30pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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Presented by broadcaster Kirsty Young, it will celebrate Attenborough’s incredible career and combine footage from the BBC’s natural history archive and live music from the BBC Concert Orchestra with reflections from leading figures in wildlife filmmaking and conservation.
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Kirsty will be joined on stage by those who have worked with David throughout his celebrated career, as well as people who have been inspired it – including Michael Palin, Liz Bonnin, Steve Backshall and Chris Packham.
“Sir David’s gift to the world has been a life spent exquisitely revealing Earth’s wonders to us all,” says Kirsty Young.
“The very least he deserves is a big 100th birthday bash at the Royal Albert Hall! I’m very happy indeed, as the host, to be able to invite everyone to the party.”
The orchestra will perform the accompanying scores to some of the most iconic sequences from wildlife television, including Planet Earth II’s BAFTA-winning racer snakes and iguanas chase and Frozen Planet II’s wave-washing orcas.
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The evening will also feature a performance from Icelandic band Sigur Rós, whose song Hoppípolla was used to promote Planet Earth and Planet Earth II.
Paraguayan harpist Francisco Yglesias will play a piece of music that featured in Zoo Quest, the Pajaro Campana.
And Dan Smith, from the band Bastille, will join the BBC Concert Orchestra to perform Pompeii, which was featured in Planet Earth III.
Top image: Sir David Attenborough on location while filming for Seven Worlds, One Planet' in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya. Credit: BBC NHU/Alex Board
