Diana concert underway
Sunday, 01 Jul 2007 18:40
Princes anxious over concert speech
Up to 65,000 people are attending a concert held by Princes William and Harry in memory of their mother Princess Diana.
The Wembley Stadium gig has been organised to mark the tenth anniversary of the Princess of Wales' death in Paris in August 1997, while today would have been her 46th birthday.
A host of big-name musicians including Rod Stewart, Lily Allen and Kanye West are performing at the Concert for Diana.
Speaking before the event, the princes admitted the prospect of getting up on stage in front of 65,000 fans will likely reduce them to "gibbering wrecks" by the end of the concert.
"We'll definitely be up at some point giving some sort of speech," Prince William said.
"It wasn't something we were contemplating and now we're like 'OK 65,000 people at Wembley and God knows how many people will be watching it on television'."
But the 25-year-old prince said he and his younger brother by three years were "really excited" about staging the concert at the new Wembley.
Sir Elton John opened the concert, with Prince Harry confirming that they had asked their mother's friend to perform his tribute song to Princess Diana – Candle in the Wind.
The 60-year-old singer last played the song at the Princess of Wales' funeral in 1997, vowing never to perform it again.
"He's helped massively just by saying yes, and obviously a personal request from us is to do Candle in the Wind again. So hopefully he'll be playing that," Prince Harry told the BBC.
On the concert itself the third in line to the throne added: "If it goes wrong it will be very nerve-racking but there's a lot to look forward to.
"It's easy to say we're nervous beforehand but at the end of the day I hope it's going to be a really amazing evening."
Meanwhile police confirmed that security would be increased following terrorist attacks in Glasgow and London over the weekend.
Other acts performing include Duran Duran, the Feeling, Joss Stone, Nelly Furtado and Take That, with the newly-reformed Spice Girls expected to make a surprise appearance.
Prince William's former partner Kate Middleton and Prince Harry's long-term girlfriend Chelsy Davy were also both expected to attend the concert after helping the princes organise the event.