The BBC Proms Festival is an 8-week classical music festival held annually in London. It’s one of the biggest music festivals in the world and always draws a crowd.
- The 2022 Proms celebrated 100 years of partnership with the BBC
- In 2022 the Last Night at The Proms was cancelled due to the Queen’s death
- 84 concerts were played at the 2022 Proms
- Around 5,000 people attend The Proms daily
- The seating capacity of the Royal Albert Hall is 5,272
- The broadcast of The Proms reaches 15 million viewers
- 3,000 musicians played at the 2022 Proms
- 7% of the 2022 lineup featured jazz and world music
- The cheapest ticket to The Proms is just over £7
The 2022 Proms celebrated the centenary of the partnership with the BBC. It was also the year that organisers cancelled the Last Night of the Proms (September 2022) as a mark of respect for the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The cancellation was also the first time since World War II that the Last concert was cancelled.
In another historic move, the 2022 Proms featured the newly-formed Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra among its 84 concerts. This was a poignant touch following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ready to find out more about The Proms facts, statistics and trends? We’ve got everything you need to know about the Proms in 2022 as well as what to look forward to in 2023.
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The Proms Background
The Proms has a long history dating back to 1895. It has since grown into a very British annual celebration of classicist musicians such as Bach and Beethoven and new composers alike.
Initially, it was held in open-air parks where music lovers could promenade and enjoy good music. At that time, tickets were very cheap. These days, however, it is held in the distinctive Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington and it offers beautifully appointed rooms for hire with fine dining and on-the-go food options. The rooms include the Elgar Room, Prince of Wales Room, Gallery, Clive Room, Henry Cole Room and the Coda Restaurant for fine dining.
The seating capacity of the Royal Albert Hall is 5,272 seats. Together with the number of concerts put on, this translates to between 400,000-500,000 visitors daily. Add to that the TV broadcast viewership, the Proms can reach 15 million viewers.
It’s a tradition that the Last Night at The Proms is the best concert, and is usually sold out. When performers play during these penultimate concerts, they are the most practised and they are probably looking forward to a well-earned rest. During the concert, famous and well-loved pieces such as Rule, Brittania!, Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory are played.
Interesting Facts About The Proms
The Proms was created as a people’s music festival. The aim of the Proms is to promote music to everyone.
Standing tickets are the cheapest way to experience The Proms. This is what “promming” is all about, and standing in the galleries or the arena for just over £7 can still be done today. The fact that one can listen to top-drawer musicians playing beautiful music for less than a tenner is very democratic.
You can even lie down and enjoy The Proms. Many people do lie down in the Galleries and the Arena, but often space is in short supply.
The Proms 2022
The Proms is organised and funded by the BBC via the licence fee. The hire of the venue, payment to the artists and management costs run into the millions. More than 3,000 musicians performed at the 2022 Proms.
Works that had never been performed before and premiered in 2022 included:
- Hildur Guðnadóttir: The Fact of the Matter (Icelandic cellist)
- Sally Beamish: Hive (British composer)
- Cheryl Frances-Hoad: Your Servant, Elizabeth
- Jennifer Walshe: The Site of an Investigation (Irish musician)
- Nicole Lizée: Blurr is the Colour of My True Love’s Eyes (Contemporary Canadian composer).
Other notable musicians and composers included Philip Glass, Norwegian jazz saxophonist and composer Marius Neset and James B. Wilson to name a few
One notable shift is the incorporation of other kinds of music alongside classical. About 7% of the 2022 lineup featured jazz and world music.
The cheapest tickets at the 2022 Proms were just over ₤7 and were only for sale on the day of the concert.
Reflection on The Proms following the 2022 season ranged from decolonising classical music to debates on opening up musical education and performance to be more inclusive of other cultures and traditions.
One of these shifts in view is the inclusion of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra which included refugee musicians and military-age men who had been exempted from military duties to play at the Proms. The inclusion of gaming soundtracks was also a first for the 2022 Proms. Indian classical music remains a firm favourite among Proms fans.
The 2023 Proms
Two months of great music are on the cards during the 2023 Proms from Friday 14 July to Saturday 9 September. Tickets will be available from May this year and those keen on attending can find the price brands starting at £8.50 (plus booking fee) on the BBC Proms website.
Tickets for the popular Last night at Proms can range from £1,194 (reserved circle seats with a clear view) to £2,274 for a 12-person private box with canapes and champagne.
This year. organisers have introduced a rather complex lottery-like system for this popular concert. Ticketing companies have risen to the challenge with many offering deals to secure tickets.
90 concerts are scheduled for this year. Full details on the schedule are expected in late April, so watch the press for details.
A Need To Diversify
It has been reported that only 25% of the 2022 season’s tickets were sold. The attendance of the Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony concert on Monday 18 July 2022, was the worst in a century of Prom concerts. This highlighted the need for the event to focus on diversity, and that’s exactly what it’s doing for 2023.
Along with the aforementioned introduction of new music genres, organisers have announced there will be a 50/50 split in gender parity in commissioning new music pieces. This is a step in the right direction, with more to come.
In conclusion, it’s important for the organisers of The Proms to continue to diversify and include as many cross sections of society as they can.
The future of this very British music tradition depends on it. The Proms Facts
Sources:
https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2022/
https://evanevanstours.com/blog/all-about-the-proms/
https://www.ft.com/content/f3999707-cf12-4b99-b16c-a13cd07daa3e
https://londonist.com/london/music/bbc-proms-2022-royal-albert-hall-how-when-best
https://www.ticketstosee.com/tickets/last-night-of-the-proms-tickets/
https://rove.me/to/london/bbc-proms#
Nathan has always been captivated by numbers and patterns. With a Master’s degree in Statistics, he’s honed his skills to decipher complex data sets and discern market trends.
Over the past decade, Nathan has worked with various firms compiling and analyzing industry spending figures to forecast market movements.