Over the next few years however, he would secretly battle HIV/AIDS – a disease that was killing millions and intensifying homophobia.

In the tragic aftermath of Freddie’s death, his bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor, along with Queen’s manager Jim Beach, devised a plan. They approached a range of stellar artists including Elton John, David Bowie and Annie Lennox and decided to commemorate their friend’s life with what would become one of the biggest concerts in history.

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was attended by over 70,000 people, with over a billion viewers on television. With one collective voice, for four glorious hours, the concert not only celebrated Freddie, but it also placed HIV/AIDS clearly in the spotlight and raised awareness of the disease.

About the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS at the time, Roger Taylor says: “We were very angry and we had to stick up for our friend – our best friend. I became fixated with the idea of giving him a hell of a send-off.”

Freddie Mercury: The Final Act is a story about friendship, love and a fight against prejudice – shown by the way in which Freddie’s friends created a joyful celebration of his life, which not only burnished his reputation as one of the world’s great musical performers, but which also helped change social attitudes.

Jan Younghusband, Head of Commissioning, BBC Music TV says: “James Rogan’s film: Freddie Mercury: The Final Act, is a poignant story of one of music’s most popular and talented musicians, and the legacy he left. Not only does it shine new light on Freddie Mercury’s brave journey through those final five years of his life, it also tells a wider – and hugely important – story of the emergence of AIDS at the time and how the incredible tribute concert after his death, helped to change for the better public opinion about the crisis. The artists of Queen and others who were there, speak candidly for the first time.”

James Rogan, Director, said: “Making Freddie Mercury: The Final Act has been an extraordinary journey into the final chapter of one of rock music’s greatest icons. Working with Queen and getting to see behind-the-scenes of some of their greatest performances and the legendary Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was a rare privilege. Equally important was speaking to the people who had lived through the eye of the storm of the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS, with all its resonances with COVID today. Freddie’s death and the Tribute that Queen organised for him helped to change global awareness of this terrible disease at a critical time.”