Sir David Attenborough turns 100 with Royal Albert Hall concert

Sir David Attenborough is set to celebrate his 100th birthday on Friday with a special BBC concert at the Royal Albert Hall, though his longtime colleague Alastair Fothergill has revealed the legendary naturalist would prefer a quiet day at home. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Fothergill described Sir David as someone who "hates celebrity" and would choose to spend his milestone birthday with "a nice glass of wine in the evening" rather than surrounded by fanfare. However, he acknowledged that Sir David understands the British public's desire to honor him and will likely return home from the event feeling happy. The 90-minute live event, hosted by Kirsty Young and airing on BBC One and iPlayer from 20:30 BST, will feature tributes from figures including Sir Michael Palin, Steve Backshall, and Chris Packham, alongside musical performances by Bastille frontman Dan Smith and Icelandic band Sigur Rós, whose music has been prominently featured in Sir David's Planet Earth series. In an audio message released ahead of the celebration, Sir David said he had been "completely overwhelmed" by birthday messages from "pre-school groups to care home residents" and thanked well-wishers for their kind messages. The milestone also prompted the Natural History Museum to honor Sir David by naming a newly discovered species of Chilean parasitic wasp "Attenboroughnculus tau," found among specimens in the museum's collection that were collected four decades ago. Meanwhile, Chris Packham criticized world leaders for ignoring Sir David's climate change warnings, telling the Big Issue there is a "real sense of sadness and injustice" when the world's leading science communicator is given a platform but not heeded. Sir David, born in 1926, joined the BBC in 1952 and has fronted groundbreaking series including the Life Collection, The Blue Planet, and Planet Earth, shaping how millions understand the natural world.