Ahead of King Charles’ Coronation Concert, “excited” Lionel Richie says he’s like “a kid at Christmas time”

This Sunday, Lionel Richie will perform at King Charles III’s Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle. Lionel’s already in the U.K. ahead of the big event, and at a garden party at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday — during which he temporarily donned a top hat — he talked about what it feels like for him to be included.

“I mean, pinch me, somebody,” he laughed. “This is a calm moment for me, [but] I’m so excited. I’m a kid at Christmas time, you know? And of course, to have the relationship that I have with King Charles, it’s just, it’s great!”

Lionel has worked with Charles for years on his Prince’s Trust charity initiatives, but he says singing at the exclusive coronation event is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“To be a part of it is everything,” he said. “And I’ve known His Majesty now for a couple of years. So to celebrate this with him and the Queen is just going to be so much fun.”

Lionel added that there haven’t been many occasions in his career that he’s been watched by as many people as are expected to tune in for the concert this weekend.

“There are a few times in life, you know…[the] ’84 Olympics. That was a billion people watching,” he mused. “…[T]here’s Oscars… this doesn’t happen every day! So am I excited about this? Absolutely!”

Lionel, along with Katy Perry, Steve Winwood, boy band Take That and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger will all be performing, with the likes of Tom Cruise, Joan Collins and Sir Tom Jones involved in other ways.

The coronation concert will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds from 3 to 5 p.m. EST. 

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