Street parties, festivals and music concerts are being held across England to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

The events include the lighting of 1,000 beacons from Berwick-upon-Tweed in the North East to the Isles of Scilly in the South West.

Bands are performing in most English cities as part of BBC Music Live.

In Birmingham, 20,000 people filled Centenary Square to watch a Blue Peter Jubilee party, which includes top pop performers such as Gareth Gates, Liberty X and Sophie Ellis Bextor.

Fun for children in Graham Road, Birmingham

In Millennium Square, Leeds, there was a performance from a gospel choir and an 11-piece group from Slovenia.

In Newcastle upon Tyne live bands were performing during the day in Times Square.

There are also street parties taking place throughout England.

In Yardley, Birmingham, Graham Road is decked with bunting for the jubilee party, which started on Saturday.

Debbie Haslam, 38, followed a family tradition in helping organise the Graham Road street party.

Her mother Patricia Smith, 64, organised the Silver Jubilee party in the same street.

'Team effort'

"So far it has been a brilliant day. The kids have loved it.

"All the people are enjoying themselves," said Miss Haslam.

Residents of Jubilee Drive, Liverpool, enjoyed a traditional party with trestle tables down the street.

Edith Robinson, helped organise a street party in Pine Grove in Sale, Greater Manchester, which started at 1400 BST on Monday.

"It is very much a team effort and the children are very excited," she said.

Beacons lit

In Berwick, the Elizabethan city wall houses a huge beacon which will be lit at 2145 BST and will signal the start of festivities with a jubilee festival taking place on the following day.

In Bradford a cross-culture party at St Mary's Church is the main focus of events, culminating in the lighting of the beacon.

Multi-culturalism also plays a major part in Derby where the Geeta Bhawan Hindu temple is hosting a brazier and procession.

And it seems that villages are matching the plans of most towns and cities.

A resident of the Cornish hamlet of Week St Mary has built a 10-foot-high beacon brazier which stands on an ancient castle mound.