The series will open with the First Night of the Proms on the 17th of July, hosting 86 concerts in the Royal Albert Hall and other venues around the country, before closing with the showstopping Last Night on the 12th of September. This year marks the 131st edition of the Proms bringing together composers, musicians and attendees from across the globe, with a special occasion planned for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The 2026 Proms will welcome The Met Orchestra from New York for the first time, as well as the return of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, plus a cohort of American composers and soloists. Other anniversaries celebrated this Proms season include the centenaries of the birth of historic figures including jazz pioneers John Coltrane and Miles Davis, and a concert celebrating 40 years of Paul Simon’s landmark album ‘Graceland’ with its featured stars Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

One of the most exciting nights comes early in Proms season, in the shape of ‘Prog Rock: A Fanfare For The Common Man’. The show will rifle through classic progressive rock songs by the genre’s most prominent names, including Genesis, Jethro Tull, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The selection of tracks has been curated by BBC Radio 6 Music DJ Stuart Maconie, whose 2023 Northern Soul night has become a massive part of the Proms legacy in recent memory. Robert Ames, co-principal conductor of the London Contemporary Orchestra, will be conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra for this one on Saturday the 18th of July. Ames posted on Facebook about the announcement, saying “I grew up listening to prog rock with my dad, and I still do. Some of my earliest musical memories are of car journeys to school, moving between Pink Floyd, Berlioz, Genesis and Mussorgsky learning without really knowing it that music could be huge, emotional, strange, theatrical and completely transporting. That world left a big mark on me, so being part of this feels deeply personal — and very special.”

One to watch will certainly be ‘Bond and Beyond’, a deep-dive into the music and epic themes that have made the James Bond film franchise so unforgettable. From the timeless main theme, to older classics like those by Shirley Bassey or Paul McCartney and Wings, and modern ones by Chris Cornell or Billie Eillish, this show will have it all for the Bond fans. So far confirmed for the night is Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’ from ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ and Adele’s ‘Skyfall’ from the film of the same name. Canadian Daniel Bartholemew-Poyser will be guest conductor with the BBC Concert Orchestra on Tuesday the 25th of August.

August’s leg of the event will conclude with a special tribute to Alan Menken, whose Disney soundtracks have been an irreplaceable part of life for millions of children worldwide. Menken is one of 22 EGOT winners, proud owners of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award across disciplines of TV, music, film and theatre respectively. His scores include many of Disney’s biggest animated films, such as ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Hercules’, and ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Performances will be by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, with special guests from the National Youth Music Theatre, live on Monday the 31st of August.

The First Night of the Proms kicks off across BBC TV, radio, iPlayer and BBC Sounds on Friday the 17th of July. Currently, the lineup for the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday the 12th of September has not been finalised, with the BBC suggesting room for another show to rival last year’s closing set of Queen’s surviving members playing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The BBC estimates more than 300,000 tickets will be available over the full eight-week duration, with a quarter of them costing only £8. General booking opens on Saturday the 16th of May from the Royal Albert Hall’s website.

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Guests and nominees had already started to arrive at the London venue including Sam Fender and Little Simz who had been rehearsing their performances. The show was scheduled to be screened on BBC Four, however, the BBC’s regular programming was interrupted to focus on the declining health of Queen Elizabeth. The organisers had already axed the red carpet segment of the event and they were moments away from opening the show, until being forced to postpone as a mark of respect.“Tonights Mercury Prize event has been postponed at this time of great national sorrow. We know everyone involved in the Mercury Prize will understand,” the organisers said in a statement.

The nominees for this year’s Mercury Prize also included Self Esteem, Wet Leg, Harry Styles and Gwenno. Harry Styles was nominated for his critically acclaimed third solo album but was not due to attend as he is currently on tour in America. The ceremony was set to include performances from Jessie Buckley, Wet Leg, Nova Twins and bookies’ favourite to win, Self Esteem.  

If anyone near the Hammersmith Apollo can collect hot food and blast chill it please reply or dm me for more info. The other food has been hooked up with the local church. Pls rt.

— Rebecca Lucy Taylor (@SELFESTEEM___) September 8, 2022

Self Esteem, real name Rebecca Taylor, had arrived at the event before the postponement was announced. Upon hearing the show would not be going ahead, she took to Twitter to seek help in donating the food and drink that had been prepared for the event. “If anyone near the Hammersmith Apollo can collect hot food and blast chill it please reply or dm me for more info. The other food has been hooked up with the local church. Pls rt.” she wrote. After much sharing, Under One Sky and Punjabi 1946 came in to freeze the food and distribute it to those who need it. “Ok we did it!!” she Tweeted, “@amritmaanldn is picking it up and getting it in a freezer to be distributed tomorrow!!! Thanks Jackie Joseph for your help. And thanks Twitter for the rts! Everyone hit up Amrit’s restaurant in cov garden asap. Love you all.”

The BBC Proms were also set to begin at 7.30 pm yesterday. With the announcement of the Queen’s death an hour earlier, they too decided to cancel as a mark of respect.

In light of the on-going crisis, Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson has announced that this year’s Proms are an opportunity to “honour those who have died”. With this in mind, the Ukraine Ministry of Culture is granting a special exemption to any male members of orchestras who are currently fighting within the Ukraine military, allowing them to participate within the Ukraine Freedom Orchestra. In a statement announcing their inaugural tour, Wilson added, “I wanted to bring the best orchestral musicians of Ukraine together, from both inside and outside of their country, in a proud display of artistic unity”.

Ukrainian refugee orchestra to play BBC Proms 2022 https://t.co/qwgLfdqXvq

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) April 26, 2022

Following an opening performance in Warsaw, Poland, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra are set to perform at the BBC Proms on the 31^st July at The Royal Albert Hall in London. Taking into consideration the current climate, Proms director David Pickard said, “I think sometimes you can feel rather powerless if you’re involved in the cultural world when a huge event like this war is going on, and this is a marvellous way to support the country and celebrate the power of music to cross divides.” Pickard also confirmed that contrasting to other cultural events in place, Russian musicians and conductors will not be banned from performing at the Proms, emphasising that they were confident that none of the Russian musicians were supporters of Vladimir Putin’s actions. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brusquely transformed the world with a new Iron Curtain settling into place. Yet despite this unsettling background, the Proms will be a cathartic opportunity for people from all over the world to unite in a powerful way.

Due to all that is covid-19 related from the pandemic-era, this is going to be the first BBC Proms held at full capacity since 2019. The BBC has announced that this years 2022 season will last a full eight-weeks, commencing on July 15^th and closing on September 10^th. There will be 84 set performances, featuring more than 3,000 musicians. The season also happens to concur with the 100^th anniversary of the BBC, which will result in further special concerts premeditated to reflect on the influence broadcasters have had on the UK music scene.

Tickets for the Proms will go on sale at 9:00am on Saturday 21^st May, with 96,000 seats available for booking. Ticket prices will start at £8.50 (plus booking fee), with an additional selection of cheaper on-the-day tickets available. Every concert is also to be broadcasted live on BBC Radio 3, and will be available on BBC Sounds. 22 of the concerts will also be broadcasted on BBC television, as well as accessible on BBC iPlayer.

Tickets can be bought here or via the Royal Albert Hall.