Indian Super Model Ishita Gupta shines bright with her presence at King Charles Coronation Concert

Over the years, there have been a few rare Indian “gems” who have represented the country on a global stage. This time, British Indian Super Model Ishita Gupta did precisely that, attending the King Charles Coronation Concert shining bright with her presence. The much-talked-about Britain event of the Coronation of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen was held on May 6th at Westminster Abbey. What garnered even more headlines was the concert that was promised to celebrate the historic occasion with performances from world-renowned music icons and contemporary stars. Ishita Gupta created quite a buzz with her presence as it was reported how she underwent a Verruca removal needling treatment before the occasion at London’s premiere foot care centre, Margaret Dabbs, who has been honoured as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in His Majesty’s New Year’s Honours List. She is now entitled to use the initials of OBE, one of the highest honours given by the King Charles III.

The platinum jubilee party of the late Queen at the palace saw the who’s who of the industry and made heads turn with names like Diana Ross, Queen and Rod Stewart, who performed on stage, while Elton John performed through a pre-recorded rendition of Your Song. The King’s Coronation weekend also saw a star-studded presence of top industry artists like Take That from Britain, Katy Perry and many other A-listers like Tom Cruise, Dame John Collins, and Winnie-the-Pooh. In fact, the new Time Lord Ncuti Gatwa took a break from filming the upcoming series of Doctor Who to mark his presence and performed excerpts from a Shakespeare play with top actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company, while the Royal Opera Chorus and the Royal Ballet brought a track from West Side Story to life. Also, adventurer Bear Grylls, Sir Tom Jones and former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse were joined through a video message including a series of pre-recorded sketches that revealed “little-known facts” about the newly-crowned King. It also saw the appearance of a nationally-beloved fictional bear Winnie-the-Pooh, who last year met the late Queen. 

What also stood out in the event was the specially-formed Coronation Choir, which represented several voices of the country, where celebrity coaches Amanda Holden, Motsi Mabuse and Rose Ayling-Ellis joined choirmaster Gareth Malone to mentor the singers for the event for coaching, challenging and inspiring the choirs for giving a pitch-perfect performance and overcoming the inevitable nerves that come with singing amidst royalty at Windsor Castle,” as per a BBC spokesperson. The documentary by BBC titled “Sing For The King: The Search For The Coronation Choir” was aired on BBC One on May 5th, two days before the event.

The 300-strong Coronation Choir consisted of singers from diverse backgrounds like the troupe of RNLI sea shanty singers from Somerset, an LGBTQ+ choir, a Northern Irish farming community group, Hull’s NHS choir, a Gaelic choir from the Western Isles of Scotland, and a refugee choir from Wales, who were joined by a Virtual Choir with incredible voices from across the Commonwealth. The concert took place on the Sunday evening of May 7th in the grounds of Windsor Castle at 8 pm BST. As the prominent personalities saw how Steve Winwood, Take That, Olly Murs and Paloma Faith performed, they also noticed the A-game in music by artists from America like Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Nicole Scherzinger.

For an event passionately devoted to the literary and performing arts, there had to be a one-off performance combining dance, art and theatre. Interestingly, Gary Barlow, one of the members of Take That, who, as a team, performed their first live show in four years, had organized the Diamond Jubilee concert in 2012 for the late Queen and had even led his band members in a performance at the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony, which is why their performance was one of the most sought-after ones for the historic occasion. Katy Perry and Lionel Richie have had amazing relationships over the years with the King, where the Dancing on the Ceiling singer became the first international ambassador for the monarch’s charity, The Prince’s Trust, in 2019, and the Fireworks songstress serves as The British Asian Trust’s ambassador, another of the King’s charities. She performed for the Children’s Protection Fund and was proud to be a part of the event. Steve Winwood, a veteran guitarist, showcased his brilliance of six decades of Rock’ n’ Roll by performing with the Virtual Choir with singers from over 40 Commonwealth countries. The well-known artist felt humbled and honoured to be included in the line-up, saying that he was alive and just about remembering Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and I’s coronation, together with millions of people worldwide and is a lifelong monarchist. Also, Lang Lang, known for judging Channel 4’s hit show The Piano, joined Nicole Scherzinger, the former X Factor judge and the Pussycat Dolls singer, in a rendition of a track from Disney’s Mulan. Also present was The Piano’s 13-year-old winner Lucy, a blind and neurodiverse, who wowed Lang Lang and the whole nation with her rendition of a Chopin piece earlier this year.

Renowned opera singer Andrea Bocelli with bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel performed a duet, serving to the King’s passion for classical music. Freya Ridings, a North London singer known for her debut album, a massive hit with billions of streams, was supposed to join classical composer Alexis Ffrench on stage playing the piano, but due to a mystery illness, at the last minute, was replaced by singer Zak Abel. Speaking on the same, BBC, in a statement published that being diagnosed with otosclerosis, overgrowth and brittleness of the stapes bone in the ear, which can lead to loss of hearing, when he was only 21 years of age, Zak overcame these hurdles and achieved massively in music, which today has led him to perform at this once in a lifetime event. Performing at the concert was also Abel, who previously collaborated with artists like Don Diablo, Kygo and Avicii and even co-wrote a song with John Legend for Paloma Faith. Offering a unique style of music was the Nigerian-born singer Tiwa Savage, aka the ‘Queen of Afrobeats’ representing Africa and the Commonwealth.’ Acting as the show’s backdrop were artworks of students from the Royal College of Art.

On May 7th, what made more buzz was the light show that involved projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations at various important locations across the UK. Hosting the concert was Hugh Bonneville, best known for his British roles in Downton Abbey and the Paddington films. For all those who couldn’t see the ballot and wanted to watch or listen from home, the Coronation concert was broadcast live on BBC One, BBC Sounds, BBC iPlayer, and BBC Radio 2, which was anchored by Presenter and former Desert Island Discs host Kirsty Young, covering the concert on BBC from Windsor Castle, while Clara Amfo of Radio 1 and Jordan Banjo, host of KISS Breakfast were with performers backstage.

Zoe Ball chatted with the stars on Radio 2 before they stepped onto the stage, and Dermot O’Leary was out amongst the crowd, bringing all the live and backstage madness to their listeners on Radio 2. On May 7th, the screens at St James’s Park also showed the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle.

The British Indian Super Model Ishita Gupta was on cloud nine for being a part of this coveted event and felt proud to be present at the event and the concert.