Why our presence at the Proms is such a big deal

Placido Domingo will sing at the Proms. Picture / Reuters

From now until early September the 74 concerts to be staged during the 2005 BBC Proms in London will reach an even wider audience than before.

The concerts will be available on the BBC website as well as through broadcasting networks worldwide.

The famous Last Night (this year on September 10) will have a global audience of millions.

And many of the music-lovers who make their way to the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington for the daily concerts will pay next to nothing for the opportunity to hear some of the world's greatest musicians.

These promenaders who stand in the well of the tiered concert hall pay 4 ($10) or as little as 2.50 ($6.50) if they buy a subscription.

This dedicated, knowledgeable and chiefly younger audience is famous for its attentiveness, even when standing for long periods often in sweltering heat.

The promenaders become a star turn in their own right on the Last Night, singing at the conductor's command, blowing whistles, waving flags and soft toys, and shouting encouraging messages to the musicians between pieces.

They also raise vast amounts for charity, exhorting ticket-holders all over the hall to give. There is even a promenaders' orchestra, with

concert dates of its own. A panoramic view of this excitable crowd is the inspiring and amusing prospect for the hundreds of singers who are often ranged above the orchestra for choral works.

Operatic soprano Eleanor Meynell, who launched her singing career with a number of the professional choirs who regularly perform at the Proms, said: "It's a joy to take part in the Proms because there's such a lovely atmosphere where classical music is something for all the people.

"The Last Night of the Proms is wonderful. Despite its critics who call it a jingoistic, self-congratulatory affair, it's wonderful for the British to have the opportunity to have a good party and poke fun at themselves."

The term promenade concert was first coined in France in the early 19th century and the BBC Proms, properly called the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, were launched by the conductor and composer Henry Wood in 1895.

They were the brainchild of an impresario called Robert Newman and subsidised by a London throat specialist, George Cathcart.

In late Victorian London concerts were normally beyond the reach of ordinary people, but the new promenade concerts meant poorer people could afford to hear classical music too.

Wood was only 26 and he was at the forefront of each season collaborating with the BBC from 1927 and offering the concert series and its name to the broadcasters when he retired in 1944.

Wood, responsible for introducing many generations to music through live performance or radio and latterly television, is still honoured on the Last Night, when a laurel wreath is placed on his statue, which presides over the event.

The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the backbone of the Proms, but for the past 40 years overseas players have also appeared. This year's visiting musicians include the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra conducted by Daniel Barenboim, the Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Most, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the World Orchestra for Peace conducted by Valery Gergiev.

The tenor Placido Domingo, sitar-player Ravi Shankar and Senegalese master musician Baaba Maal are all making their Proms debuts this year.

For the first time this year the traditional rendition of Rule Britannia at the Last Night concert on Saturday, September 10, will feature a counter-tenor, the soloist Andreas Scholl.

Two themes dominate the programmes - the sea and fairytales. The sea has been chosen because this year marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

And as the promenaders start planning their queueing strategies they might reflect that over the years, many music-lovers have met their future spouses while waiting in line at the Royal Albert Hall.

- INDEPENDENT