BBC cancels final three proms following death of The Queen
Florence Lockheart
Friday, September 9, 2022
The BBC cancelled yesterday's Prom and has confirmed the cancellation of this evening's Prom 71 as well as the Last Night of the Proms
The BBC has confirmed that it will cancel Prom 71, which was scheduled for this evening (9 September), and the Last Night of the Proms following the death of The Queen yesterday afternoon.
This news follows the BBC’s cancellation of yesterday evening’s Prom 70, which was set to star the Philadelphia Orchestra led by music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The Proms tweeted the announcement at 7.34pm, four minutes after the concert was scheduled to start.
However, the orchestra did still make a short appearance, performing the British National Anthem and ‘Nimrod,’ from Edward Elgar's ‘Enigma’ Variations, instead of their original programme of Barber, Valerie Coleman and Beethoven’s third symphony ‘Eroica’.
In a statement released on Twitter last night, the orchestra said: ‘We would like to express our deepest sympathy to the British people on the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. It is our sincere hope that this music, with its profound meaning, will serve in some way as the United Kingdom and the world mourns the passing of this remarkable leader.’
News of the cancellation of the following two Proms followed close behind, with the BBC Proms Twitter account tweeting: ‘Following the very sad news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen, as a mark of respect we will not be going ahead with Prom 71 on Friday 9 September, or the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday 10 September.’
Replying to concerned ticket holders, the BBC Proms account also confirmed that: ‘The Royal Albert Hall will be contacting anyone who has bought tickets from the RAH Box Office about refunds directly.’
