The BBC has confirmed that the Proms will not go ahead tonight or tomorrow following the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II.
A statement posted on the official BBC Proms Twitter account confirmed the news, revealing that Prom 71 and the Last Night of the Proms had both been called off.
“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,” the statement read.
The Last Night of the Proms had been planned to take place at the Royal Albert Hall tomorrow night (10th September), bringing an end to the eight-week summer season of classical music.
The evening’s music was set to be led by BBC Symphony Orchestra principal guest conductor Dalia Stasevska, while soprano Lise Davidsen and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason were among those included in the line-up.
But the event is one of many to have been cancelled as the United Kingdom pays its respects to the country’s longest-reigning monarch, who died at Balmoral aged 96 yesterday.
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It is the first time the Last Night of the Proms has been cancelled since 1944, when the event was called off due to renewed bombing during the Second World War.
However, changes have been made to the programme in response to major news events more recently, including following the death of Diana Princess of Wales in 1997 and after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
Thursday night’s event, Prom 70: The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, had already been cancelled yesterday evening, having originally been scheduled to begin at 7:30pm – just an hour after the news broke.
The Queen herself had been a patron at Royal Albert Hall and last attended the Proms in 2006 when a special concert was staged in honour of her 80th birthday.
The news of the monarch’s death was announced by Buckingham Palace yesterday evening, with an official statement reading: ‘The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
“The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
For the latest scheduling information, visit our TV Guide.