The BBC Proms, London’s famous eight-week orchestral music festival, is one of the world’s most popular – and most sophisticated – music events. Founded in 1895, the BBC Proms (or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC) are steeped in tradition. While you may not require a heavy pair of womens safety shoes or boots from Terra footwear to fight your way through jostling crowds, you may find your BBC Proms experience enhanced by sturdy footwear as you join fellow audience members in the “Prommers’ Stamp” – stamping of the feet to applaud an exceptional musical performance!
This Saturday, 11 September 2010, will mark the annual “Last Night of the Proms” as the BBC Proms draws to a close for the year. The programme for the last evening of the BBC Proms for 2010 looks set to wow seasoned Prommers and newcomers alike. Soprano Renée Fleming and conductor Jiří Bělohlávek will be giving stellar performances, and Prommers can expect traditional BBC Proms favourites like Rule Britannia! and of course the Pomp and Circumstance March.
Tickets are, as always, in high demand for the Last Night of the BBC Proms. Most tickets were allocated by ballot to Prommers who have bought tickets to 5 or more BBC Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. Another 200 tickets were available by open ballot, which has now closed. While it seems unlikely that any further tickets to the wildly popular BBC Proms would still be available, standing tickets are often purchasable for £5.00 on the Last Night for anyone willing to join the queues at the Royal Albert Hall.
It is said that the spirit of original Proms conductor Henry Joseph Wood presides over the present-day BBC Proms, and many Prommers would attribute this to the uplifting experience that is the famous Final Night.