Season 84
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family.
The performance showcases a variety of family entertainment including comedy, singing, dance, magic and other speciality acts. The event is organised on behalf of the Entertainment Artistes Benevolent Fund of which Queen Elizabeth is patron. All proceeds are donated to the fund.
The Royal Variety Performance traditionally aired annually in South Africa on M-Net on New Year's Eve. The show moved to DStv's BBC Entertainment channel for 2010 and back to M-Net and DStv's M-Net HD channel in 2011.
The 84th Royal Variety Performance took place in the UK at the Royal Albert Hall on 19 November, 2012 and aired in the UK on ITV on 3 December, 2012.
The 84th Royal Variety Performance aired in South Africa on M-Net on Monday 31 December 2012, at 22h30. The special was two hours long.
84th Royal Variety Performance
One of television's best loved personalities, comedian, actor and children's author David Walliams was the host of The Royal Variety Performance 2012 at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall.
This year, 2012, marked the 100th anniversary of The Royal Variety Performance in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.
David Walliams presided over the show, which promised to be an unforgettable evening of the best UK and international musical, comedy and variety performances.
The very best of British talent and an international galaxy of stars from around the world of entertainment lined up to appear on the show including:
International music sensation Rod Stewart, music icon Neil Diamond, Brit Award winners One Direction, Britain's Got Talent winners Ashleigh and Pudsey, Brit Award winners Girls Aloud, pop sensation Kylie Minogue, superstar Robbie Williams, opera legend Andrea Bocelli, multi Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys, comedians Rhod Gilbert and Bill Bailey, an extract from the Seven Olivier Award-winning Matilda The Musical and the eagerly anticipated musical The Bodyguard, Cuba's Ballet Revolución plus a spectacular duet from tenor Plácido Domingo and operatic singer Katherine Jenkins.
This star-studded spectacular took place on the 19th November and was screened on ITV1 in early December. It was produced by ITV Studios.
As is customary, the event was staged in aid of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, whose patron is Her Majesty The Queen. The money helps to maintain Brinsworth House in Twickenham, Middlesex – the entertainers' retirement and nursing home which is run by the EABF.
The 2012 Royal Variety Performance was commissioned by ITV's Controller of Entertainment John Kaye Cooper and executive produced by ITV Studios' Lee Connolly and Fiona Clark.
About the Show
There isn't a show in the history of show-business, nor indeed in the history of television, that compares to the Royal Variety Performance.
With numerous shows over more than 100 years is a feat unsurpassed, and the very best in entertainment from around the globe has been presented year after year since the show's origins in 1912.
The quality and diversity of legendary performers over the years is both extraordinary and breathtaking and The Royal Variety Performance continues to thrive to this day, forming a major part of the entertainment industry's annual calendar with a worldwide TV audience of over 150 million.
The Royal Variety Performance is presented annually in aid of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund (the EABF), now often known as simply the Royal Variety Charity; the first show being staged in 1912 when His Majesty King George V and Her Majesty Queen Mary attended the first Royal Performance.
The Royal Variety Performance is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. The reigning monarch either attends in person or is represented by another member of the royal family.
Almost every conceivable sort of act has at one time or another been presented to the monarch at the Royal Command Performance, including The Beatles in 1963, The Supremes in 1968 and The Blue Man Group in 2005.
Since 2007, one act of the Royal Variety show has been selected by the British public through the ITV1 television talent show Britain's Got Talent.