A GALAXY of stars took to the stage last night in front of a sea of red, white and blue at a spectacular concert celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Tens of thousands of people lined The Mall, where they watched the performances on giant screens, and a specially built arena in front of Buckingham Palace to mark the Queen's 60-year reign.

Some of music's biggest names, including Gary Barlow, Kylie Minogue, Stevie Wonder, Sir Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox, Robbie Williams, Grace Jones and Sir Tom Jones, headed the star-studded bill.

But the highlight of the night was Madness, who performed on top of the roof of the Queen's home – and had the cheek to project an image of a block of flats across its vast frontage to the backdrop of their 1980s hit Our House.

The Queen took her seat midway through the gig, minus the Duke of Edinburgh who has been hospitalised with a bladder infection.

The Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were already being regally entertained. The monarch later took centre stage herself as she lit one of 4000 beacons being lit across Britain and the Commonwealth.

Robbie Williams kicked things off in style as he took to the stage with the Household Guard in their striking and distinctive red uniforms.

Fans waved their flags furiously as a military band accompanied him as he performed his hit Let Me Entertain You in a cloud of pyrotechnic smoke.

Opening host Rob Brydon joked: "Welcome to the noisiest party the Queen has ever seen. She won't like this.

"This will be the equivalent of a well-meaning parent handing over the house to a 16-year-old and ending up on Facebook."

Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am continued the party mood by getting the crowd on their feet for his band's hit I Gotta Feeling.

He was joined by fellow judge from BBC1's The Voice Jessie J, who then had her own turn in the spotlight with her hit Domino, finishing with some vocal theatrics.

Take That star and concert organiser Gary Barlow was joined on stage by surprise guest Cheryl Cole to sing her single Need You Now and she thrilled crowds in a glittering, floor- length black and white gown.

In keeping with the Queen's lengthy reign, Sir Cliff Richard drew on hits from across each decade of his career, which stretches back to 1958.

Dressed in a beige suit, he performed songs such as Devil Woman, Wired For Sound, We Don't Talk Anymore and even Millennium Prayer, accompanied by footage of the Queen from her early life.

Each of the guests in the arena were issued with a plastic bag containing a poncho, a Jamaica ginger cake, a woven Union flag and a souvenir programme.

Luckily, in comparison to the previous day's Thames Pageant, the weather improved and the ponchos were not needed.

One of the most bizarre performances of the night came from Grace Jones, who sang an entire song while hula hooping, before shouting: "Happy Birthday, our Queen."

Lennox took to the stage wearing a set of angel wings to perform her hit There Must be an Angel, with her backing band and conductor also wearing the wings.

Minogue then added yet more theatrics, performing her hits Spinning Around and Dance while dressed as a Pearly Queen.

One of the highlights of the evening came when Barlow was joined on stage by singers and musicians from all over the commonwealth to perform Sing – a song written especially for the occasion.

The commemorative track reached number one in the charts on Sunday.

Sir Paul McCartney brought the show to a spectacular end as images of the Queen's reign were shown.

Following the concert, the Queen lit a beacon as part of a network being lit throughout Britain and the Commonwealth.

By 3pm yesterday several had already been lit across Australia, New Zealand and Tonga – with a total of 4200 expected to have been lit through the night and into today.

In Scotland, a beacon in Unst, in the Shetland Isles, had the distinction of being the most northerly beacon in the country.