Diamond jubilee flotilla to launch on river Thames The royal barge is prepared for the Queen's diamond jubilee Thames pageant. Photograph: Colin Baldwin/PA The ambitious centrepiece of the diamond jubilee weekend will take to the water on Sunday when a flotilla of 1,000 ships recreating royal pageants of old makes its way down the river Thames, led by the Queen. More than 20,000 people will be on the boats, which are expected to be watched by at least 1 million people lining the river's banks and bridges as central London comes to a virtual standstill. Up to 50 large screens have been placed along the river for people to view the spectacle, which sets off from Putney at 2.30pm and finishes at Tower Bridge at 5.30pm when the last of the vessels arrive. The flotilla, the largest such pageant for 350 years, will range from rowing boats to military boats, including a barge carrying the Queen and other members of her family. Other vessels will include a contingent of Dunkirk "little ships" and tall ships such the Southampton-based Tenacious, which will be sailed by a mixed crew of able-bodied and disabled people. More than 20 vessels from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) are being drafted in for the occasion to help with safety on the river. Another vessel will take on a ceremonial role during the pageant in celebration of the 60,000 lives saved by the RNLI during the Queen's reign. The £2.7m boat, renamed diamond jubilee in honour of the Queen, patron of the RNLI, will join the flotilla. Allen Head of the RNLI said: "We have got 24 lifeboats on the river and they will be looking after the vessels that are part of the event but also the general public that will be enjoying the spectacle." Despite forecasts of showers and colder conditions, family festivals in Battersea Park and Hyde Park are expected to attract large crowds on a day when thousands of street parties also take place around the country as the jubilee coincides with the Big Lunch, a charity initiative designed to get communities to spend time together. The beginning of the jubilee weekend was marked on Saturday by the Queen's traditional visit to the Epsom Derby to watch the thoroughbreds race. The Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins had the honour of performing the national anthem in front of 130,000 patriotic racegoers after the monarch had driven on to the course in a Bentley customised with a Royal Standard on the roof. Buckingham Palace becomes the centre of attention on Monday with the BBC jubilee concert getting under way at 7.30pm, when conditions could be drier and brighter. More than 10,000 ticket holders will see artists including Robbie Williams, Dame Shirley Bassey, Stevie Wonder, JLS, Jessie J and Elton John perform. One of the highlights will be the group Madness, performing their hit Our House on the roof of the palace. A visual tribute will also see diamond jubilee beacons light up the night sky across the UK on Monday, with more than 4,000 expected to be lit here and in the Commonwealth. Festivities climax on Tuesday with a religious service, a procession through the streets of London and the royal family's appearance on the palace balcony to acknowledge the tens of thousands expected to fill the Mall. By the end of the weekend, an estimated 2 million people are expected to have left the country, with many republicans perhaps among them. The anti-monarchy group Republic has promised the "biggest anti-monarchy protest in living memory" at the Thames pageant. A jubilee pub night organised by the group takes place later on Sunday evening.