Queen (and Adam Lambert) to perform at Oscars; Pharrell Williams and Helen Mirren to present awards

Queen and Adam Lambert will perform at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, it has been announced.

The band are at the centre of Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddie Mercury biopic starring Rami Malek.

How their performance will figure in the evening has not yet been confirmed, but there have been rumours for some time that they could open the show.

The Academy broke the news on Twitter, saying: “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? We welcome @QueenWillRock and @adamlambert to this year’s #Oscars!”

In response, guest vocalist Lambert tweeted a video:

A further raft of award presenters has also been announced. They include Michael B. Jordan, Michael Keaton, Helen Mirren, Pharrell Williams and Michelle Yeoh.

This year’s awards have been beset by problems. The Academy was unable to fill the traditional host’s position after Kevin Hart withdrew amid a controversy about his past statements.

Yesterday, the organisers confirmed that veteran actress Bette Midler would perform Best Song nominee The Place Where Lost Things Go (from Mary Poppins Returns).

She will be joined by Jennifer Hudson (I’ll Fight from RBG), David Rawlings and Gillian Welch (When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs), and Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga (Shallow from A Star is Born).