Let The Jubilee Begin!

Queen Elizabeth II opened Buckingham Palace to 12,000 guests for an outdoor evening of classical music Saturday, kicking off a four-day Jubilee celebration of her 50 years on the throne.

The concert marked the start of a string of royal revelry with pomp, fireworks, street parties and a pop concert on tap.

CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips calls the festivities evidence of a "new-found re-connection between the Queen and her people." And Phillips notes that that means everyone, with the palace's public relations machine making special efforts lately to appeal to all generations of Brits.

The Golden Jubilee holiday happens to coincide with England's first soccer match at the World Cup in Japan — an event which will overshadow the royal family briefly on Sunday morning in the football-mad nation.

"Long to reign over us" read the Daily Mail front page dominated by a photograph of the queen. "Send him victorious," was the back page headline beneath a picture of England football captain David Beckham.

Lord Stirling, Chairman of the Golden Jubilee Weekend Trust which organized the royal celebrations, said he couldn't predict how many would turn out but he was expecting huge crowds.

"I think the spirit out there to celebrate this great lady's 50 years is absolutely marvelous," he told the BBC.

Concertgoers lounged on the grass in the palace gardens before taking their seats in front of the stage Saturday. Police estimated that another 40,000 gathered outside the gates to watch the performances on giant video screens.

Dozens of Union Jack flags fluttered in front of the palace and vendors sold smaller versions to the festive crowd.

"It doesn't get better than this," said performer Julian Bliss, 12, who wore a white tuxedo with sparkling gold tie and vest as he played the clarinet, accompanied by pianist Ashley Wass. "It was amazing."

Black and white footage of Elizabeth's coronation played on video screens beside the stage as the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Andrew Davis, performed Handel's "Zadok the Priest," which was composed for the coronation of King George II in 1727 and has been played at every coronation since.

Under glorious blue skies, soprano Kiri Te Kanawa sang "Micaela's Aria," from Bizet's Carmen, and the George Gershwin classic "Summertime," from "Porgy and Bess."

The London Adventist Chorale followed with a pair of spirituals, "Great Getting-Up Morning" and a piece specially arranged for the Golden Jubilee.

The orchestra played a rousing rendition of Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance," a British favorite for which the crowd stood, waved flags and sang along, then cheered wildly.

Also performing were Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, operatic duo Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu, and Zenaida Yanowsky and Roberto Bolle of the Royal Ballet, who danced to music from "Swan Lake."

The musicians all returned to the stage to close the evening with "God Save the Queen." Elizabeth, in the royal box between her husband, Prince Philip, and her son, Prince Charles, stood and waved as the crowd cheered her.

Eighteen members of the royal family joined the guests, who won their tickets in a lottery. Prince Charles's companion Camilla Parker Bowles was there, her presence apparently another signal of the palace's growing acceptance of the couple's relationship.

Concertgoers had to show identification along with their tickets and then walked through the palace to the gardens.

"It's a beautiful atmosphere, like in a fairy tale," Alagna told the BBC.

Giant video screens showed the concert to audiences in parks around the country, and it was also broadcast live on television.

But there was nothing like being there. Guests sipped champagne and supped on smoked salmon, chocolates and a specially designed dish dubbed "chicken jubilee," courtesy of the palace.

The "Prom at the Palace" - whose name refers to the annual summer series of classical concerts put on by the BBC - will be followed by a pop music concert at the palace on Monday.

Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Ozzy Osbourne and Phil Collins are slated to perform, along with many others representing the music that has been popular during Elizabeth's reign.

A chain of 2,000 beacons and bonfires will be lit around the world to mark the event, which will culminate in a display of fireworks launched from the roof of Buckingham Palace.

Similar beacons were used the last time Britain celebrated a Golden Jubilee - for Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria in 1887.

Hundreds of street parties are scheduled around the country on Monday and Tuesday, which have been declared national holidays. A parade is planned in Windsor on Monday, and the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, will process through London in a gold state coach to St. Paul's Cathedral for a service of thanksgiving.

The royal family will watch from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Tuesday as Royal Air Force jets and the supersonic Concorde honor the queen with a flyby.

Elizabeth, 76, was 25 when she became queen upon the death of her father, George VI, in 1952.

The year meant for celebration of the anniversary has been darkened by the deaths of her mother, the Queen Mother Elizabeth, and her younger sister, Princess Margaret.

The losses seem to have boosted the public's fondness for the queen, who has been traveling around Britain and the Commonwealth of its former colonies on a jubilee tour.

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