David Attenborough Says He Is Completely Overwhelmed By 100th Birthday Greetings

Sir David Attenborough said he is “completely overwhelmed” by the birthday greetings he received ahead of his 100th birthday, which he celebrates on Friday.

“British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has brought the natural world to living rooms for the past seven decades”

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

In a recorded audio message released on Thursday, Attenborough said, “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas.”

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The BBC planned a live event at the Royal Albert Hall broadcast on BBC One, with music from Attenborough’s programmes and stories and reflections from public figures and leading advocates for the natural world.

BBC coverage also said the concert would be hosted by Kirsty Young and would feature special guests including Sir Michael Palin, Steve Backshall, Liz Bonnin and Chris Packham.

The BBC said the week of centenary programming would include a special 90-minute concert and that Attenborough’s messages were released in an audio message on Thursday.

Tributes for Attenborough’s centenary included comments from Chris Packham, who said: “He is the greatest living broadcaster and has been the greatest ambassador for life on Earth the planet has and will ever see.”

The Natural History Museum marked the birthday by naming a newly discovered species of parasitic wasp after him, Attenboroughnculus tau, and the Guardian said the museum was running an immersive exhibition, Our Story With David Attenborough, until August.

BBC

At Kew Gardens, staff recorded a birthday message paying tribute and calling on people to honour Attenborough by taking greater care of plants and fungi, while the Australian Museum planned free entry to a new exhibition, Bloodsuckers: Nature’s Vampires.

The BBC said the Attenboroughnculus tau is native to the Patagonian lakes of Chile and that a specimen was found in the museum’s collection four decades after it was collected.

The BBC also listed other species named after the broadcaster, including a wildflower, butterfly, grasshopper, dinosaur and ghost shrimp.

The BBC said live music from the BBC Concert Orchestra would include pieces associated with Attenborough’s most famous television series, including the snakes and iguanas chase from Planet Earth II and the wave-washing orcas sequence from Frozen Planet II.

“Ahead of his 100th birthday on Friday (8 May), Sir David Attenborough has shared a message saying he is "completely overwhelmed" by the outpouring of love he has received”

Digital Spy

The BBC also reported that Bastille frontman Dan Smith would join the orchestra for a rendition of the band’s hit Pompeii, which featured in Planet Earth III.

Sigur Rós was scheduled to perform Hoppípolla, which the BBC said was used in the promotion of Planet Earth and Planet Earth II, and other musical guests were listed as singer Sienna Spiro and harpist Francisco Yglesia.

The BBC said the concert would remember wildlife moments from Attenborough’s career and the BBC’s natural history archive, and that BBC One series Secret Garden saw Attenborough examine the hidden worlds and wildlife thriving in British gardens.

In the same BBC coverage, Kate Philips described the centenary as an “extraordinary” moment and called Attenborough a “truly remarkable individual.”