The Proms
The Proms, or to give them their full name ‘The Promenade Concerts’ are a season of classical music concerts that take place each summer from mid-July to mid-September at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, west London.
The first ‘prom’ was held in August 1895 under the auspices of the theatrical empressario Robert Newman with the intention of popularising classical music for the masses. He engaged the conductor Henry Wood and it is Wood’s name that is most associated with the proms.
The BBC became involved in 1926 and the proms are now known as the ‘BBC Proms’.
The origin of the word ‘Promenade’ is the practice that continues to this day of reserving a thousand tickets for sale on the day of the performance to ‘promenaders’ (or ‘prommers’). These tickets, as the name suggests, are standing only and are very popular.
In the 2009 season the concert run exceeds one hundred performances for the first time, and alongside more traditional classical composers the music of Bollywood movies and MGM Musicals will be featured. The 2008 proms included a special Doctor Who concert that included appearances by characters from the BBC TV Series.
By far the best known and most popular of the proms is the last night. ‘The Last Night of the Proms’ is a patriotic celebration that culminates with much waving of union flags and raucous singing of ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Rule Britannia’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’.
The performances are so popular that the BBC holds open air concerts around the country with video links back to the Albert Hall for the climax of the concert.