Editing BBC Proms (section)

=={{anchor|Last night}}Last Night of the Proms==<!-- This section is linked from [[Harrison Birtwistle]] -->
[[File:Proms in the Park 2.jpg|thumb|right|The Last Night of the Proms celebrates British tradition with patriotic [[music of the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2008/lastnight/|title=The Last Night|work=BBC Proms website|publisher=BBC|year=2008|access-date=22 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2446128.0.last_night_of_the_proms_brought_to_a_rousing_finale_with_patriotic_splendour.php|work=[[Sunday Herald]]|title=Last Night of the Proms brought to a rousing finale with patriotic splendour|year=2008|access-date=22 October 2008|first=James|last=Hamilton|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918022406/http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2446128.0.last_night_of_the_proms_brought_to_a_rousing_finale_with_patriotic_splendour.php|archive-date=18 September 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref>]] 
Many people's perception of the Proms is based on the Last Night, although this is very different from the other concerts. It usually takes place on the second Saturday in September, and is broadcast in the UK on [[BBC Radio 3]], and on television on [[BBC Two]] (first half) and [[BBC One]] (second half). The concert is traditionally in a lighter, 'winding-down' vein, with popular classics followed by a second half of British patriotic pieces. This sequence traditionally includes [[Edward Elgar]]'s "[[Pomp & Circumstance]] March No. 1" (to part of which "[[Land of Hope and Glory]]" is sung) and Henry Wood's "[[Fantasia on British Sea Songs]]", followed by [[Thomas Arne]]'s "[[Rule, Britannia!]]". The concert concludes with [[Hubert Parry]]'s "[[And did those feet in ancient time|Jerusalem]]", and the [[British national anthem]], since 2010 in an arrangement by [[Benjamin Britten]]. The repeat of the Elgar march at the Last Night can be traced to the spontaneous audience demand for a double encore after its premiere at a 1901 Proms concert.<ref>{{cite news | author=Colin Matthews | title=The evolution of the Proms | url=http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25342-2648022,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807142118/http://www.tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25342-2648022,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=7 August 2007 | work=The Times Literary Supplement | access-date=20 July 2008 | location=London}}</ref> The closing sequence of the second half became fully established in 1954 during Sargent's tenure as chief conductor.<ref name="Cannadine">{{cite journal | doi=10.1111/j.1468-2281.2008.00466.x | last=Cannadine | first=David | title=The 'Last Night of the Proms' in historical perspective | journal=Historical Research | volume=81 | issue=212 | pages=315–349 |date=May 2008 | doi-access= }}</ref> The Prommers have made a tradition of singing "[[Auld Lang Syne]]" after the end of the concert, but this was not included in the programme until 2015. However, when [[James Loughran]], a Scot, conducted the Last Night concert in the late 1970s and early 1980s he did include the piece within the programme.

Tickets are highly sought-after. Promming tickets are priced the same as for that season's concerts, but seated tickets are more expensive. To pre-book a seat, an initial selection is released to winners of a ballot open to those who have booked five or more Prom concerts, and in 2023 there was also an advance sale to those who had seats booked for the cancelled 2022 event. After the advance-booking period, there is no requirement to have booked for additional concerts, but by then the Last Night is mostly sold out, although returns may be available.  For standing places, a full season pass automatically includes admission to the Last Night; some day Prommers can get limited tickets available on various dates by presenting five ticket-stubs from previous concerts, either in the Arena or Gallery (prior to 2009, the requirement was for six other concerts) but most day Promming tickets are open to everyone on the morning of the concert, whether they have booked before or not.
<ref name=LastNightBooking>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalalberthall.com/plan-your-visit-essential-safety-information/bbc-proms-2023/|title=BBC Proms 2023 FAQs|publisher=Royal Albert Hall|access-date=5 July 2023}}</ref> In the post-war period, with the growing popularity of the Last Night, the only way to obtain tickets was through a postal ballot held well-in-advance.

Prommers with tickets are likely to queue up much earlier than usual (many overnight, and in past years, some slept outside the hall for up to three weeks to guard their place – although this is no longer permitted) to ensure a good place to stand; the resulting camaraderie adds to the atmosphere. Some attend in [[fancy dress]], from [[dinner jacket]]s to patriotic T-shirts. Many use the occasion for an exuberant display of [[Britishness]]. [[Union Flag]]s are waved by the Prommers, especially during "Rule, Britannia!". Other national flags, balloons, and party poppers are all welcomed – although John Drummond discouraged 'extraneous noise' during his tenure as director.

Sir Henry Wood's bust is adorned with a [[laurel wreath|laurel chaplet]] by representatives of the Promenaders, who often wipe an imaginary bead of sweat from his forehead or make some similar gentle, visual joke. As with the rest of the season, the cost of promming tickets (standing tickets) is just £8. Many consider these to be the best tickets due to the atmosphere of standing in the hall for up to three hours; albeit with a twenty-five minute interval.

Another tradition is that near the end of the concert the conductor makes a speech thanking the musicians and audiences, mentioning the main themes of the season, noting the cumulative donation collected for the Promenaders' musical charities over the season, and announcing the date of the First Night for the following year.  This tradition dates from 1941, when Sir Henry Wood gave the first such speech at the close of that season, which was the first at the Royal Albert Hall, when he thanked colleagues and sponsors.  Wood gave a similar speech at the 1942 Last Night, and a pre-recorded version was played at the 1943 Last Night.  During his tenure as conductor, Sir Malcolm Sargent established the tone of making the Last Night speech more humorous.  Subsequent conductors have generally continued this, although one exception was in 1997 when [[Andrew Davis (conductor)|Andrew Davis]] addressed the deaths of [[Diana, Princess of Wales]], [[Mother Teresa]], and [[Sir Georg Solti]] in 1997.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/last-saturday-saw-the-last-night-of-the-proms-and-the-first-night-of-the-royal-operas-exile-at-the-barbican-robert-cowan-and-edward-seckerson-were-at-the-respective-venues-1239341.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/last-saturday-saw-the-last-night-of-the-proms-and-the-first-night-of-the-royal-operas-exile-at-the-barbican-robert-cowan-and-edward-seckerson-were-at-the-respective-venues-1239341.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=Last Saturday saw the Last Night of the Proms and the first night of the Royal Opera's exile at the Barbican. Robert Cowan and Edward Seckerson were at the respective venues... | work=The Independent | author=Robert Cowan/Edward Seckerson | date=15 September 1997| access-date=7 September 2009 | location=London}}</ref>

[[Leonard Slatkin]], chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2004, expressed a desire to tone down the nationalism of the Last Night, and during the seasons from 2002 until 2007 "Rule Britannia" was only heard as part of Henry Wood's '"[[Fantasia on British Sea Songs]]" (another piece traditional to the Last Night) rather than separately. Slatkin, an American and the first non-[[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] citizen to lead the Last Night, conducted his first in 2001, just days after the [[9/11 attacks]].  The atmosphere was more restrained and less festive than normal, with a heavily revised programme where the finale of [[Beethoven's 9th Symphony]] replaced the "Sea Songs", and [[Samuel Barber]]'s "[[Adagio for Strings]]" was performed in tribute to 9/11 victims.<ref>{{cite news | author=Andrew Clements | title=Prom 72/ Last Night of the Proms | url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/sep/17/artsfeatures.proms2001 | work=The Guardian | date= 17 September 2001 | access-date=9 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref>

On the day of the 2005 Last Night, the hall management received word of a bomb threat, which led to a thorough search of the Albert Hall for 5 hours, but the concert took place after a short delay.  This has led to increased security concerns, given the stature of the Last Night in British culture, which Jacqui Kelly of the Royal Albert Hall staff noted:

{{blockquote|That was quite a nerve-wracker&nbsp;– our biggest event, the one everybody knows the Albert Hall for, and we were in real danger of losing it.  We're an iconic thing, up there in the public eye, so we have to expect that.<ref>{{cite news | author=Michael Church | title=How to put on a Prom | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/how-to-put-on-a-prom-413606.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/how-to-put-on-a-prom-413606.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | work=The Independent | date=28 August 2006 | access-date=20 July 2008 | location=London}}</ref>}}

2008 also contained some departures from the traditional programme. "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1" was moved to after the conductor's speech. In addition, most of Wood's "Fantasia on British Sea Songs" was replaced by Vaughan Williams's ''[[Sea Songs]]'' as a final tribute in his anniversary year.  However, Wood's arrangements of naval bugle calls from the start of the "Fantasia" were retained, and Sargent's arrangement of "Rule Britannia" returned with [[Bryn Terfel]] as soloist.  As on his 1994 Last Night appearance,<ref>Teldec 4509-97868-2 CD, "Last Night of the Proms (The 100th Season)", 1994.</ref> he sang one verse in a Welsh translation, with the chorus also translated into Welsh. Additionally, 2008 saw the inclusion of Scottish composer [[Anna Meredith]] to the programme for her Proms premiere, ''froms'', which involved five different groups of musicians telecasting in from around Britain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3560242/Anna-Meredith-daring-challenging-and-a-recipe-for-chaos.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3560242/Anna-Meredith-daring-challenging-and-a-recipe-for-chaos.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Anna Meredith: Daring, Challenging - and a Recipe for Chaos|last=Hewitt|first=Ivan|date=September 11, 2008|website=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

2009 saw the continued absence of Wood's ''Sea Songs'', this time replaced by specially commissioned fanfares, and extracts from [[Handel]]'s "[[Music for the Royal Fireworks]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2009/whatson/1209.shtml|title=Prom 76: Last Night of the Proms|publisher=BBC|access-date=14 August 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2009/abouttheproms/questions.shtml|title=About the Proms / Questions to Roger Wright—Last Night of the Proms & Sea Shanties (Archived)|author=Roger Wright|publisher=BBC|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927165345/https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2009/abouttheproms/questions.shtml|archive-date=27 September 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2009, for the first time, the Last Night was shown live in several cinemas across Asia and in Canada and Australia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/aug/13/last-night-proms-satellite-cinemas|title=Last Night of the Proms to go live at cinemas worldwide|agency=[[Press Association]]|access-date=14 August 2009 |date= 13 August 2009| location=London | work=The Guardian}}</ref>

In 2016, anti-[[Brexit]] protestors waved [[EU flag]]s in addition to the usual [[Union Jack]] flags.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/10/eu-flags-waved-at-last-night-of-the-proms-in-anti-brexit-protest|title=EU flags waved at Last Night of the Proms in anti-Brexit protest|agency=Press Association|date=2016-09-10|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-08-04|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The protests have continued in subsequent years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/last-night-of-the-proms-flooded-with-20000-eu-flags-in-brexit-musicians-protest/|title=Last Night of the Proms to be flooded with 20,000 EU flags in anti-Brexit protest|last=Sherwin|first=Adam|date=2018-09-08|website=inews.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-08-04}}</ref> In 2020, the concert was performed to an empty hall, due to the [[COVID-19]] [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|restrictions in place in the UK]].<ref name="bbc2020" /> Two years later, in 2022, the concert was cancelled 48 hours before it was scheduled to happen, following the [[death of Queen Elizabeth II]], the first Last Night cancellation since 1944. [[Dalia Stasevska]] had been selected to conduct. Stasevska returned to conduct the First Night in 2023, while [[Marin Alsop]] conducted the Last Night. This marked the first time that the BBC Proms had female conductors open and close the season.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/20/female-conductors-to-open-and-close-bbc-proms-for-first-time|title=Female conductors to open and close BBC Proms for first time|last=Tilden|first=Imogen|date=20 April 2023|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=5 September 2023}}</ref> As a result of the cancellation, the date for the First Night of the 2023 Proms wasn't announced until April 2023.

===Last Night conductors===
The following table lists by year the conductors of the Last Night of the Proms. In general, since the tenure of Sargent, the Chief Conductor of the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] has led this concert, but guest conductors have directed the Last Night on several occasions. Additionally, the tradition was for a British conductor, and if not the current serving Chief Conductor, one who had an association with the BBC Symphony Orchestra or one of the other BBC orchestras. [[Charles Mackerras]] was the first non-British-born conductor to lead the Last Night, in 1980. [[Leonard Slatkin]] was the first American conductor of the Last Night in 2001. [[Jiří Bělohlávek]] was the first non-native English speaker to conduct the Last Night, in 2007. [[Marin Alsop]] was the Last Night's first female conductor in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22188201|title= BBC Proms appoints first female director for Last Night|work=BBC News|date= 18 April 2013|access-date=13 September 2014}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" | Conductor !! colspan="9" | Last Night(s) ...{{efn|group=lastnight|name="worldwar2"|The 1939 season was curtailed by the outbreak of war, and the 1940 season by German bombing, meaning that there was no official "Last Night". Only the first few concerts were held in public in 1944 due to renewed bombing. Wood died shortly before what should have been the end of the 1944 season.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalalberthall.com/about-the-hall/news/2012/august/things-you-may-not-have-known-about-the-bbc-proms/ |title=Discover the secret history of the BBC Proms |date=14 August 2012 |website=royalalberthall.com |access-date=27 September 2016}}</ref> The 2022 season was curtailed by the [[death of Elizabeth II]], meaning that there was no official "Last Night" for that year}}
|-
! 19th c.–1940s !! 1950s !! 1960s !! 1970s !! 1980s !! 1990s !! 2000s !! 2010s !! 2020s
|-
| [[Henry Wood]]{{efn|group=lastnight|''Sir Henry'' from 1911 onwards}}|| 1895–1938, 1941–1943{{efn|group=lastnight|name="worldwar2"}}
! rowspan="4" |
! rowspan="4" |
! rowspan="5" |
! rowspan="6" |
! rowspan="13" |
! rowspan="12" |
! rowspan="13" |
! rowspan="22" |
|-
| [[Sir Adrian Boult]] || align="center"| 1945, 1946{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"|Duties undertaken as Guest Conductor, rather than as resident Chief Conductor, [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]]}}{{efn|group=lastnight|name="principal-conductor"|Former Principal Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra}}
|-
| [[Basil Cameron]] || rowspan="2" align="center"| 1945{{efn|group=lastnight|Constant Lambert, Basil Cameron and Sir Adrian Boult jointly undertook proceedings upon the return in 1945}}
|-
| [[Constant Lambert]]
|-
| [[Sir Malcolm Sargent]] || colspan="3" align="center"|  1947–1966
|-
| [[Colin Davis]]{{efn|group=lastnight|Later ''Sir Colin''}}
! colspan="2" rowspan="21" |
| colspan="2" align="center"| 1967–1972
|-
| [[Norman Del Mar]]{{efn|group=lastnight|name="scottish"|Former Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra}}
! colspan="1" rowspan="20" |
| align="center"| 1973, 1975 ||align="center"| 1983{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
| [[Sir Charles Groves]]{{efn|group=lastnight|name="northern"|Former Principal Conductor of the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra (later the BBC Philharmonic)}}
| align="center"| 1974, 1976, 1978{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
!
|-
| [[James Loughran]]{{efn|group=lastnight|name="scottish"}} || align="center"| 1977, 1979 || 1981, 1982, 1984{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
| [[Sir Charles Mackerras]]{{efn|group=lastnight|name="principal-conductor"}}
! colspan="1" rowspan="17" |
| align="center"|1980{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
| [[Vernon Handley]] || align="center"| 1985{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
| [[Raymond Leppard]]{{efn|group=lastnight|name="northern"}} || align="center"| 1986{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
| [[Mark Elder]]{{efn|group=lastnight|Later ''Sir Mark''}} || align="center"| 1987{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}} || align="center"| 2006{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
| [[Sir Andrew Davis]]{{efn|group=lastnight|''Sir Andrew'' from 1999 onwards<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/55354/supplement/1/data.pdf |title = The Gazette (London Gazette supplement), issue 55354 |date = 30 December 1998 |website = www.thegazette.co.uk |publisher = The Stationery Office}}</ref>}} || align="center"| 1988{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}} || align="center"| 1990{{efn|group=lastnight|replacing Mark Elder}}–1992, 1994–1999 || align="center"| 2000{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}|| align="center"| 2018{{efn|group=lastnight|Davis is currently Conductor Laureate of the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]], having served as Chief Conductor from 1989 to 2000.}}
|-
| [[Sir John Pritchard]] || align="center"| 1989
! rowspan="1" |
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="4" |
|-
| [[Barry Wordsworth]]{{efn|group=lastnight|name="principal-conductor"}}
! colspan="1" rowspan="11" |
| align="center"|1993{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
| [[Leonard Slatkin]]
! colspan="1" rowspan="10" |
| align="center" |2001–2004
|-
| [[Paul Daniel]] || align="center"|2005{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
| [[Jiří Bělohlávek]] || align="center"|2007|| 2010, 2012
|-
| [[Sir Roger Norrington]] || align="center"| 2008{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
! rowspan="2" |
|-
| [[David Robertson (conductor)|David Robertson]] || align="center"| 2009{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}{{efn|group=lastnight|Robertson was Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC SO from 2005 to 2012}}
|-
| [[Edward Gardner (conductor)|Edward Gardner]]
! colspan="1" rowspan="5"|
| align="center"|2011{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
| [[Marin Alsop]] 
| align="center"|2013, 2015{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}} 
| 2023
|-
| [[Sakari Oramo]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whats-on/2014/september-13/15146|title=Proms 76: Last Night of the Proms|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=13 September 2014}}</ref>
| align="center"|2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
|2021, 2024
|-
| [[Dalia Stasevska]]<ref name="bbc2020">{{cite news |title=Subdued Proms concludes after Rule, Britannia! row |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-54115935 |access-date=13 September 2020 |publisher=BBC News |date=12 September 2020}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |
| align="center"|2020{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}, <s>2022</s>
|-
| [[Elim Chan]]
| align="center"|2025{{efn|group=lastnight|name="guest-conductor"}}
|-
|}
{{notelist|group=lastnight}}