The 1997 Royal Variety Performance held at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, celebrates the world of variety. Presenters include Emma Forbes, Des O'Connor, Joanthan Ross, Trevor McDonald, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. There are performances from the casts of Fame and Chicago, Joe Pasquale, Enya, Andy Leach, Lydia Griffiths, Vladimir, The Spice Girls, Cirque du Soleil, Michael Bolton, Michael Ball, Barbara Cook, Brian Conley, Harry Hill, Tony Blair, the cast of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, Jim Davidson, and Celine Dion. Presenter Emma Forbes greets viewers outside the Victoria Palace theatre. The Queen and Prince philip are greeted by Andrew Mills, Laurie Mansfield, Peter Elliot, Stephen Waley-Cohen, Peter Prichard, Lady Delfont, Philip Hindin, Ray Dom, Gerry Robinson, Steve Morrison, Richard Ayre, Victoria Morgan, and Jamie Maloney. The Queen enters the theatre, a fanfare and the national anthem are played. Host Des O'Connor opens the show with jokes about Jim Davidson, and The Full Monty. Des introduces the cast of Chicago from the Adelphi theatre who sing and dance to extracts from All That Jazz, Mr Cellophane, All I Care About, Me and My Baby, and Cell Block Tango. Des returns to introduce comedian Joe Pasquale (driven on stage by Maureen Rees) who performs stand up comedy with visual jokes and jokes on parcel delivery, Edward Woodward, Torvill and Dean. Des returns with a joke on the Teletubbies, then introduces Enya who sings Only If... . Jonathan Ross introduces comedian and magician Andy Leach who performs a magic trick with a newspaper then performs comedy hypnotism tricks with a puppet called Derek the ferret, he performs comedy with a balloon, a trick with sticks, and a comedy quick change routine. Jonathan returns to introduce Lydia Griffiths who sings On My Own. Des returns but is interrupted by Joe Pasquale who brings a camel onto the stage which he says is a present for the Queen. Des introduces Vladimir who performs a strength and agility act performing acrobatics from straps suspended from the ceiling. Des introduces the cast of Fame who sing and dance to Fame. Des introduces ventriloquist Trevor James who performs as a zookeeper with his Greater Crested King Parrot puppet. The Spice Girls sing Too Much, and Who Do You Think You Are? The Cirque du Soleil perform, first a group of clowns (one of whom dances a tango with a lady from the audience), then a woman performs with hula hoops, a man performs acrobatic balancing act, a group perform acrobatics on high beams, a lady sings Alegria [? - song title not identified]. Des makes jokes about initials and abbreviations, then introduces comedian Harry Hill who performs stand up comedy with jokes on post, drinks, fire, gardening, football, and medical conditions. Des introduces Michael Bolton who sings Go the Distance. Prime Minister Tony Blair delivers a pre-recorded message to the Queen and Prince Philip congratulating them on their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Trevor McDonald introduces introduces Michael Ball who announces that he will sing one of the Queen and Prince Philip's favourite songs with the star of the Broadway production of Oklahoma Barbara Cook. Michael and Barbara sing People Will Say We're in Love. Des introduces Brian Conley who encourages Des to sing (a man in the audience shouts 'oh no we don't). Brian sings It's De-Lovely allowing Des to sing the word it's. Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright (The Two Fat Ladies) are introduced; they come on stage in their motorbike and sidecar - but turn out to be Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett (The Two Ronnies - who appear on stage for the first time together in ten years) who introduce a performance from Matthew Bourne's production of the ballet Swan Lake. Des introduces Jim Davidson who performs stand up comedy with jokes on Robin Cook, divorce, staying at hotels, flying, and a corgi. Des introduces Celine Dion who sings Because You Loved Me, addresses the Queen (she notes the honour she feels in taking part and congratulates the royal couple of their anniversary), she then sings The Reason. All of the show's performers take a final bow, while singing Thank You for the Music. Des sings Anniversary Waltz. The national anthem is played and the Queen is seen backstage meeting the show's producers and some of the performers including Lucy Williamson, Samuel Treto and Elena Lev, Trevor James, Jonathan Ross, Lydia Griffiths, Vladimir, Matthew Bourne, Scott Adler, Adam Cooper, Harry Hill, Michael Ball, Barbara Cook, Enya, Ronnie Corbett, Ronnie Barker, Michael Bolton, The Spice Girls, Jim Davidson, Celine Dion, and Des O'Connor.