Matteo Chinellato/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Matteo Chinellato/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesMick Jagger narrates a new short film promoting this year’s 150th anniversary celebrations of London’s historic Royal Albert Hall.

The 90-second video, dubbed “Your Room Will Be Ready,” anticipates the impending re-opening of the venue, which currently is closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The clip features a voice-over of the Rolling Stones frontman reciting an excerpt of the 1964 W.H. Auden poem “For Friends Only.” It’s accompanied by footage of an empty Royal Albert Hall, intercut with a montage of various highlights of events held at the venue over the years, including concerts by may legendary stars.

Among the various music legends glimpsed in the promo: Bob Dylan, Queen‘s Freddie Mercury, The Beatles, Diana Ross, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Oasis, The Who, Cream, Chris Cornell, George Michael, Iggy Pop, Dave Grohl, and, yes, The Rolling Stones.

“Empty and silent most of the year/This room awaits from you what you alone, as visitor, can bring,” Jagger reads. “Distance and duties divide us, but absence will not seem an evil/if it make our re-meeting a real occasion/Come when you can: Your room will be ready.”

As the film ends, a message appears on the screen that says, “We’ve missed you.”

A number of events that were to have taken place at the Albert Hall in 2021 have been canceled or postponed, but dozens of shows remain confirmed, starting with an April 13-15 residency by Bryan Adams. Visit RoyalAlbertHall.com for a full list of concerts.

By Matt Friedlander
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