Samira Ahmed – BBC Proms

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The Proms are back this evening, with the Royal Albert Hall expected to be packed with revellers deprived of their cultural fix for two years. No social distancing will be in place and the venue is set to be at full capacity, but attendees are expected to provide proof of their vaccination or COVID-19 status. For the next week, performances will be given by various orchestras with modern and classical pieces set to bedazzle enthusiasts.

While Dalia Stasevska, the Proms’ conductor, promised that the musicians will play “their hearts out”, a much darker shadow continues to loom over the Proms.

Last year, a row erupted when the BBC announced it was considering dropping Rule Britannia! and Land of Hope of Glory from the Last Night of the Proms because of their perceived links with colonialism and slavery.

It came in the wake of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, with coronavirus pandemic restrictions having been viewed as an opportunity to make the change.

The momentous pushback forced the BBC’s hand to make a U-turn, and Rule Britannia! was, in fact, performed and sang.

But, the damage had already been done, with hundreds of comment and analysis pieces tearing apart the corporation for ever even floating the idea.

Rupert Christiansen, in a column for The Daily Telegraph after the announcement, described the BBC’s reason for removing the songs because of the pandemic as “superficial”.

He said: “The superficial excuse for playing orchestral arrangements of Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory, with no singers present on stage or in the auditorium, is that (thanks to COVID-19 restrictions) the Last Night will be played out in a hall empty of audience, and without a spontaneous free-for all or any sort of professional chorus, programming the pieces in their usual form doesn’t make musical sense.

“This seems reasonable enough, though anyone who has heard the heart-rending recording of Kathleen Ferrier singing Land of Hope and Glory solo might have disagreed with the choice not to sing at all.

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“What complicates the matter further is the issue raised by Dalia Stasevska, who will conduct the concert (and who is incidentally, only the second woman to do so).

“She is a keen supporter of the BLM movement and she regards this as ‘the perfect moment to bring change’ – presumably because she believes that lyrics endorsing imperial values associated with slavery and persecution need to be eliminated.”

He went on to claim that every arts organisation, including the BBC, had been put in a “flat spin” by the challenge of BLM.

Mr Christiansen continued: “Terrified of being caught out or denounced as unconsciously racist, they are all frantically trying to improve their diversity and inclusion policies, shortcomings in which would leave them ineligible for grants and vulnerable to denunciation on social media.”

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Later on in the piece, he claimed that while the BLM movement was a force for good, it appeared to be impeding “on the arts front”.

Just a week after its announcement, the BBC reversed its decision.

The corporation had initially said that the decision to perform orchestral-only versions was prompted by COVID-19 restrictions.

However, a “select” group of singers went on to perform the songs.

In a revised statement, the BBC said: “The pandemic means a different Proms this year and one of the consequences, under COVID-19 restrictions, is we are not able to bring together massed voices.

“For that reason we took the artistic decision not to sing Rule Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory in the Hall.”

Both songs will also be performed at this year’s Proms.

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