Ed Sheeran, Corgi Puppets, A Moving Cake And A Towering Dragon: The Queen's £15m Platinum Jubilee finale

A musical tribute from Ed Sheeran, puppet corgis and a giant 3D wire bust of the Queen will feature in the £15 million carnival finale of the monarch's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Highlights will also include an aerial artist suspended under a vast helium balloon, a giant oak tree flanked with a maypole dancer, a moving wedding cake and a towering dragon.

Set to be watched by up to a billion across the globe, more than 10,000 people will be involved in staging the spectacle, including the military, more than 6,000 volunteers, performers and key workers and 2,500 members of the public.

The million-pound pageant is being "made by the people for the people" and is a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience, organisers said.

It is understood the money has been raised from corporate sponsors and individuals.

It will take place against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace and its surrounding streets on the afternoon of Sunday, 5 June - the last day of the four-day bank holiday weekend marking the Queen's 70 years on the throne. 

The procession will cover a 3km route echoing the Queen's coronation.

At one stage, the Queen will be imagined in her younger days with a 20ft puppet of a youthful princess surrounded by a pack of mischievous puppet corgis.

A number of "national treasures" will take part in the finale, but the show's director David Zolkwer did not give any further details and said organisers want to "hold some surprises back for the day".

There is speculation members of the royal family may make an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the finale but organisers would not be drawn on the rumours of who might attend.

Rosanna Machado, chief executive of the pageant, said:

"We are liaising with the royal household about involvement of all members of the royal family and details will be released in due course."

The public will be invited to become part of the performance as people gather around the Queen Victoria Memorial outside the gates of Buckingham Palace at the end.

Other celebrities confirmed to be taking part throughout the day include Sir Cliff Richard, Dame Shirley Bassey, and Gary Linekar.

The event will be split into four acts: For Queen and Country, The Time of Our Lives, Let's Celebrate, and Happy and Glorious.

The first act will feature a military parade with 1,750 people and 200 horses - one of the largest military spectacles in modern history, according to organisers.

The Time of Our Lives will celebrate seven decades of culture, music and fashion.

Daleks, Sinclair C5s and a fleet of iconic cars from James Bond films dating back to the 1960s will have starring roles, as will celebrities who have been "pivotal to the British culture", including Sir Cliff and Dame Shirley.

The third act, Let's Celebrate, will tell the story of the Queen's life in 12 chapters, with a nod to her corgis and her beloved horses.

This interpretation of the coronation in Afro-Caribbean carnival-style, by Brent-based Mahogany Carnival Arts, imagines the animal kingdom's response to Princess Elizabeth's accession to the throne in 1952 whilst on safari in Kenya.

Her purple and white coronation robe will be made up of 80 dancers and be flanked by twirling 'baianas' and elder members of the community riding mobility scooters modified into flamingos.

The Queen's 1947 wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh, who died last year, will be highlighted with a giant four-tier wedding cake baked by acrobatic cooks on the move.

The cake, which will be followed by Bollywood dancers, will house a sound system playing a medley of Bollywood tunes, in tribute to the coming together of people across the UK and Commonwealth.

The final act, Happy and Glorious, will take place in front of the Palace with Sheeran and include the singing of the national anthem.

As preparations continue for the event in just over a month's time, Mr Zolkwer said:

"It's about ordinary people coming together from far and wide to do extraordinary things; real people with delightful, authentic stories to tell; taking centre stage in a spectacular performance filled with wonder, warmth, wit and so much humanity.

"It will be all about how, through the recollections and stories and experiences we share, we can see how we are all connected - through time; to each other; and to the Queen."