An event celebrating David Attenborough’s 100th birthday is taking place at Royal Albert Hall next month and will feature performances from Sigur Rós and Bastille.
The live event is being organised by the BBC and will celebrate the life and career of the iconic British broadcaster, natural historian and writer.
Hosted at the historic London venue, the night will be broadcast live and hosted by Kirsty Young. Guest speakers include Sir Michael Palin, Steve Backshall and Chris Packham, and there will also be musical performances from some of the artists featured in his hit Planet Earth TV series.
Bastille frontman Dan Smith will be performing a classical version of their massive ‘Pompeii’ with the BBC Concert Orchestra, following the track being used in Planet Earth III. Icelandic post-rock legends Sigur Rós will also be performing their classic ‘Hoppípolla’. Taken from their 2005 breakthrough album ‘Takk’, it was used in the soundtrack for the trailer of the first season of 2006’s Planet Earth before they released a new version of the song in 2016, created specially for the follow-up, Planet Earth II.
“In Iceland we are blessed with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of wild and untamed places. But even here, in the very furthest flung corners of Europe’s largest wilderness, the scars of human industry are visible, the plans for future encroachments, by dam and smelter, legion,” the band said in a statement at the time.
“If lost the Icelandic highlands are not recoverable. Around the world the story is the same; the traffic, literally, going in one direction. Sigur Rós are proud to be associated with Planet Earth II and its all-important mission to hold us rapt in understanding of, and respect for, this endlessly fascinating, utterly surprising and ultimately fragile place we are lucky enough to call home for a short while.”
The BBC Concert Orchestra will also be performing the scores associated with some of the most memorable moments in Sir David’s shows – including the iguana and snake chase from Planet Earth II – and Sienna Spiro will join forces with Paraguayan harpist Francisco Yglesias to play ‘Pajaro Campana’ – a piece that featured in Attenborough’s first wildlife programme, Zoo Quest.
“Sir David’s gift to the world has been a life spent exquisitely revealing Earth’s wonders to us all,” Kirsty Young told the BBC. “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.”
Alongside the live performances, there will also be footage of the most memorable wildlife moments captured from both Attenborough’s seven-decade-long television career and from BBC’s natural history archive.
The event is produced by BBC Studios Music Productions and the Natural History Unit in partnership with The Open University, and will be taking place on May 8 at Royal Albert Hall. It will also be broadcast from 8:30pm on BBC One and iPlayer. Visit here for tickets to the live show, and here to tune in on iPlayer
Two other shows are being broadcast on BBC to celebrate Attenborough’s birthday too. These include his 1979 series Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure, which features new interviews with Sir David and the original production team, and Secret Garden – a new, five-episode show that explores the hidden stories within Britain’s gardens and shares how the public can help support struggling species.
For Dan Smith, the appearance at the one-off Royal Albert Hall show comes following Bastille sharing ‘Save My Soul’ at the end of 2025 – their first new single in three years.
As for Sigur Rós, the Icelandic post-rock stars held a residency at that same historic London venue in October last year and used the shows to break out classic track ‘Ára bátur’ for the first time. This summer sees the band embark on the final leg of their UK and European orchestral tour, in support of their acclaimed 2023 album ‘ÁTTA’.
