This dazzling gala concert, which commemorates the end of the Second World War in Europe, features a spectacular line-up of international stars and Russia's top musical talent.

The concert will raise money for British Red Cross – the humanitarian organisation which helps people in need all over the world.

A programme of popular classics and war time favourites will transport the audience back to that long-awaited spring of 1945 when peace returned at last, set against an atmospheric backdrop of specially-created pictures and images. Alongside all the nostalgia, there will be plenty of contemporary entertainment to enjoy too, paying tribute to the Allies’ great victory in a fusion of music and culture.

The line-up will include performances by the world-renowned Alexandrov Red Army Choir, folk-diva Nadezhda Babkina, one of the most popular singers across the former USSR Tamara Gverdsiteli, Russia’s very own Frank Sinatra – Iosif Kobzon, rock star Alexander Marshall, the young but already acclaimed Kvatro group, the animator Ksenia Simonova (famous for creating unique installation of sand live on stage); and other very special guests. The programme will also feature performances from some of the UK’s biggest rock acts, Jethro Tull and Rick Wakeman who boast combined record sales of over 100 million, as well as “The People’s Tenor” Russell Watson, R&B star Lemar and Academy-award winning actor Jeremy Irons.

This event not only marks the achievements of the Allies and their resistance movements 65 years ago, but also pays tribute to the special relationship between the British Red Cross and Russia – and to the vital role played by the Red Cross at the end of the war in helping and supporting Soviet families who had lost relatives during the fighting.

A Ballet Gala in memory of the legendary ballet star Rudolph Nureyev, celebrating his extraordinary career from Kirov soloist to masterly choreographer. After his defection to the West in 1961, Nureyev became a household name – delighting audiences with his electrifying and daring performances – but he never forgot his roots and did much to revive the Russian tradition. Perhaps the greatest male dancer since Nijinsky, his longstanding partnership with Dame Margot Fonteyn of the Royal Ballet was one of the most famous in the history of dance.

The programme of the gala concert  includes excerpts from such masterpieces as La Bayadère, Romeo and Juliet, Manon, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Le Corsair, as well as the short ballets The Moor’s Pavane (choreography by Jose Limon), Afternoon of a Faun (choreography by Jerome Robbins) and the last movements from Pierrot Lunaire (Choreography by Glen Tetley). Nureyev's dance and choreographic repertoire will be performed by international stars from the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Berlin Staatsballet and Wiener Staatsballet.

Among them: Alina Cojocaru, Olga Esina, Mara Galeazzi, Dmitri Gruzdyev, Dmitri Gudanov, Nina Kaptsova,  Ivan Kozlov , Manuel Legris, Ulyana Lopatkina, David Makhateli, Roberta Marquez, Andrei Merkuriev, Marianela Nunez, Ivan Putrov, Gil Roman, Farukh Ruzimatov,  Vladimir Shishov,  Inaki Urlezaga, Edward Watson, Svetlana Zakharova and Igor Zelensky.

The ballet gala will be accompanied by the orchestra of the English National Ballet conducted by Valery Ovsyannikov.

The gala evening will draw a link between Nureyev’s brilliant career in the West and his early years courtesy of the Rudolph Nureyev Classical Ballet Festival, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.