Patriots will be straightening their red, white and blue bow-ties tonight for Britain's annual sing-along, the last night of the Proms.
As queues form outside London's Albert Hall for remaining £4 tickets to belt out Rule Britannia, crowds will be gathering in Belfast, Glasgow and Swansea to prove the Proms are not just "little England". For the first time, the four regions will host their own "last night" Proms for broadcast on BBC1. And this year the programme has worked hard at further inclusiveness: a new Prom at Brixton Academy delivered classical music to the children of south London.
Alongside Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic were intriguing pairings, such as the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Bobby McFerrin, more famous for singing Don't Worry, Be Happy.
But critics worried that they were not attracting the audiences they should when, on August bank holiday, Berlioz's epic The Trojans was performed to an embarrassing number of empty seats. Nicholas Kenyon, director of the Proms, responded by revealing that, overall, audiences matched last year's record. He added: "What we strive for is not to be sold out every night, but to have a balance of adventurous repertoire and big audiences."
French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, who has performed for 14 years and will play tonight in Hyde Park, said: "The proms are still the most unique and exciting concerts, because of the extraordinary crowd.
"The first time I played, I was shocked to see people standing, and so close to the performers. But what is unbelievable is their silence, there's not even a breath. It's as if they treat music like the most precious nectar. "
