Can Sir David Attenborough really be 100? With every standing ovation he received during his centenary celebration at the Royal Albert Hall, the venerable natural history presenter sprang to his feet with the energy of a man half his age. Clearly, doing what you love keeps you young. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he ziplines down from the Royal Box,” joked an audience member sitting next to me.
It was a night when we gave thanks for this most special of broadcasters, with a concert programme featuring tributes from the great and the good, memorable clips from his landmark series, and music from the BBC Concert Orchestra. The Prince of Wales, who sat beside Sir David before coming down to the stage to give a speech, summed it up perfectly. “Through your boundless curiosity, gentle wisdom, and unwavering dedication,” he told Sir David, “you have opened our eyes to the beauty of our planet, and to its fragility, reminding us of our collective responsibility to protect it.” He also poked fun at the presenter over the number of times, in his younger years, that he was filmed with his shirt off.
The audience consisted of more than 4,000 members of the public, alongside colleagues who have worked with Sir David over the years. They stood when the Prince arrived on stage, but he urged them to sit, saying: “The standing ovations are for David.” Tonight, there was only one star of the show.
The King provided the most delightful surprise of the show when he appeared in a short film. Through the wonders of television,his 100th birthday telegram to Sir Davidleft Balmoral and made its way to London with the help of Britain’s wildlife, including a fox, a hedgehog and a red squirrel, plus a helpful sheepdog. There was even a cameo from the Queen’s rescue dog, Moley. At the end of the film, Sir David waved the envelope in the air from the royal box, where he was seated beside the Prince of Wales and the chairman of the BBC.
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The atmosphere in the hall was one of celebration. And, at times, it was also emotional. Footage of a young Sir David with those mountain gorillas in Rwanda can still make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, no matter how many times you’ve seen it. As film from over the years played on a giant screen, the orchestra provided stirring accompaniment. Choirboys from the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School joined the Icelandic band Sigur Rós on Hoppipolla, the track used in the promotion of Planet Earth. Dan Smith, of the band Bastille, performed their hit Pompeii, which featured in the soundtrack for another series. And when the orchestra played the score to that famous snakes vs iguanas sequence from Planet Earth II, the viewing experience – and who knew this was even possible – became even more nerve-jangling.
The list of celebrities paying video tribute was starry: Dame Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations. The audience included BBC director-generals old and new, plus Kemi Badenoch (presumably, Sir Keir Starmer had more pressing things to do). Sir Michael Palin came on to the stage, revealing that he and Sir David enjoyed a jokey rivalry over which of them had visited the most countries. Singer Sienna Spiro performed Nat King Cole’s Nature Boy, which could not have been more fitting. And who knew we could all be so enchanted by the Paraguayan harp, in a performance by Francisco Yglesia of music chosen by Sir David for the 1958 series Zoo Quest?
As Kirsty Young, the consummate host, reminded us, it was a twist of fate which brought Sir David on to our screens at all. He worked on Zoo Quest as a producer, and was only roped into stepping in front of the camera when the original host fell ill. How colourless the world of wildlife programming would have been without him. “I’ve been lucky enough to live through what might well be considered the golden age of natural history film-making. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” he said. But, of course, the reason it was a golden age is that Sir David was at the helm.
And he’s not done yet. The BBC has just announced that Sir David will be providing the narration for Blue Planet III, and we were treated to a little clip of him at work. As Young told him: “Your work goes on. Your legacy is infinite.”
The evening ended with the audience singing Happy Birthday, followed by Sir David on screen reading out the lyrics to What A Wonderful World. It was a privilege to be in the room. And what a privilege for us all to have been guided through the natural world by this most extraordinary man.
