US singing star John Legend shares honor at being part of 2026 Spring Festival Gala

American singer John Legend expressed his astonishment at the scale and quality of the China Media Group (CMG)'s 2026 Spring Festival Gala and his honor at being a part of the grand television spectacle which has been recognized as the world's most-watched annual TV show.

The hours-long gala was aired on Monday evening on the eve of the Chinese New Year, with a carefully curated line-up of performances, high-tech special effects, and entertaining variety acts guiding viewers towards the new year -- which this year ushered in the Year of the Horse.

As the clock ticked past midnight on Tuesday, Legend took to the stage to perform his chart-topping hit "All of Me", before teaming up with French actress and singer Helene Rolles to deliver a touching rendition of the main theme song of the classic Disney movie "Beauty and the Beast".

In an exclusive interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Legend said he was delighted to participate in the TV extravaganza.

"Wow, I've been so amazed by all the other artists that I've seen. The dancers, the singers, the performers. It's such a beautiful, festive show and I'm so honored to be a part of it," said Legend.

While China's Spring Festival is the most cherished time for celebrating family reunions and making people-to-people connections, Legend felt the message of love in his hit song 'All of Me' was especially fitting for the occasion, and shared the story behind how the classic 2013 hit was born.

"These songs are all about love, and I think music is really in a lot of ways about celebrating love and celebrating connection and celebrating our shared humanity. And I think it's a great, great way to bring in the new year here in China. I'm doing 'All of Me' at this performance. And no matter where I perform 'All of Me' around the world, people sing along. People feel connected to the song, people have memories associated with the song, whether it's their wedding or their first date or whatever feelings they have about love and relationships, that song has meant a lot to a lot of people all around the world, and it just shows you that deep down, we're all the same," he said.

"I wrote it right before I got married to my wife and she did cry the first time she heard it, and the first time I sang it in front of an audience was at our wedding. And we filmed the music video that same week in Italy during the week of our wedding. And so it will always be really meaningful to me, but I'm grateful that it's so meaningful to other people as well," he added.

In addition to Legend, Irish pop group Westlife also performed during the gala, as they gave an entertaining version of their iconic ballad, "My Love", while veteran U.S. singer Lionel Ritchie was among the other international stars who appeared in an earlier segment.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional holiday for the Chinese people, and watching the Spring Festival Gala, also known as "Chunwan", is a cherished part of the celebrations every year in hundreds of millions of Chinese homes.

Since first being broadcast in 1983, the gala has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the most-watched annual television program on the planet.

US singing star John Legend shares honor at being part of 2026 Spring Festival Gala

Tourism between the UK and China is on the up amid a growing curiosity about the respective cultures, cuisine, and history of both sides, as tourists say they are continually drawn by a desire to explore the iconic sites and experience all that the two countries have to offer.

Ties and exchanges between the two nations have been boosted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's official visit to China last month, with one of the most fruitful outcomes being the announcement that China would introduce a unilateral visa-free policy for UK nationals.

The measure, which officially came into force on Tuesday, allows eligible passport holders to stay for up to 30 days for various purposes, and will be effective through December 31.

Meanwhile, tourists going in the other direction are considered crucially important to the British economy, with China remaining one of the UK's most valuable overseas tourism markets.

According to the UK Government's Office for National Statistics, in 2024, more than 670,000 visits to Britain were made by residents of the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, a huge rise from the 185,000 visits made in 2022.

Chinese visitors point towards the UK's culture and even its cuisine as being among the main attractions.

"For me, London is more like a melting pot with a lot of different cultures. You can experience a lot of different things here," said a Chinese visitor.

"I really like to eat fish and chips and sausage. I've also had hash browns," said another Chinese visitor.

There's also a growing enthusiasm among British travelers towards China, with data showing that residents of England, Scotland, and Wales made 988,000 trips to the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan in 2024.

Residents pick out the numerous reasons why they'd like to make the long trip to China.

"Everybody wants to see the Great Wall. It's a phenomenal piece of architecture. You can see it from space," said one resident.

"I guess I'd want go Shanghai, because honestly, I just love the food," said another local.

"I'd like to go to China to see the Great Wall of China. I teach martial arts, so it's that kind of thing [that I'm interested in] - that's why I'd like to see, because it's supposed to be one of the wonders of the world isn't it, so ideal," said another Londoner.

Tour companies who work on both sides of the travel relationship have seen interest growing in both directions, with the new visa-waiver policy likely to spur greater interest among UK tourists about making the journey to China.

"We always receive phone calls, inquiries from UK people who want to go to China. It's almost on their bucket list to go to China at least once in their lifetime to see the Great Wall and Forbidden City in Beijing, to see pandas in Chengdu, to see the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an and also to experience the local culture, the local cuisine," said Jean Dong, marketing director of Cultural Tours.

China-UK tourism on rise as visitors keen to explore culture, cuisine of both sides