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It's Royal Variety showtime
THE red carpet is gleaming, the stage is set and thousands of lights are ready to shine on an action-packed night of delight – right here in Blackpool.
As the finishing touches are put to the Winter Gardens ahead of tonight's Royal Variety Performance, The Gazette was granted an exclusive look behind the scenes.
And the famous old Opera House theatre has truly had the royal touches given to it for Her Majesty the Queen and the performers.
More than 300 members of ITV staff are backstage while hundreds of miles of cable twist their way through the galleries to bring it to our screens.
Famously, the royal toilet has been refurbished at a coast of around 4,000 which will be for the Queen's sole use.
And the stars, too, are to be treated like royalty with the Hollywood A-listers getting their own suites, complete with satellite TV, sofas, en-suite bathrooms and luxury goodies for their riders.
Click here throughout the day for our backstage blog as we bring you all the gossip from the show.
Headliners Bette Midler and Whoopi Goldberg have dressing rooms next to each other while Lady Gaga, Peter Kay and Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus also have their own spaces.
The rooms were designed by Lynda Baker, front of house manager at the Winter Gardens.
She said: "We've started from scratch, ripping out whatever was in there before and designing what we thought the stars would like.
"The stars started to arrive over the weekend so have had a chance to look at their rooms so anything they didn't like we got rid of, and that includes furniture.
"They are the stars of the show and we've gone out of our way to make them feel as comfortable as possible.
"I'm really excited about it, but I don't get starstruck so I will be calm and collected when they are all arrive here."
Lynda has a team of 28 people working for her on the night with a further 200 staff working on various parts of the Winter Gardens.
The Empress Ballroom has been turned into a massive Green Room for the dancers and members of the orchestra while the stalls in the cavernous ballroom are home to the make-up artists.
Have you been out celebrity snapping, if so send your pictures to stephen.skelly@blackpoolgazette.co.uk and we'll add them to our gallery.
The car park has been turned into a workshop with crews working to get the props right on the night.
The Opera House will also be in the festive spirit after having a massive Christmas Tree donated to it by Baguleys in Marton and has been decorated by staff at Marks & Spencer.
The Royal Box, while not in the same position as 1955, has been erected in the centre of the Circle.
Michael Williams, operations director of Leisure Parcs, said: "We've changed many of the light fittings as some of them date back to the 1930s.
"We are very proud of the royal box and the work everyone has done to make sure it is ready on time."
- The Queen is due to arrive at the Opera House at around 7pm tonight ahead of the show.
Don't miss Tuesday's Gazette for our picture special from the event and pick up a copy of Saturday's eight-page review pull-out.
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Weather for Blackpool
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
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Wind direction: South west
