The BBC Proms 2024 season reached over 10.6 million people on TV, with 4.6 million streams on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds
PHOTO: Angel Blue (soprano) and Sakari Oramo (Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra) at the Last Night of the Proms 2024. (Image: Mark Allan)
Date Published: September 18, 2024 — The BBC Proms 2024 came to a close on Saturday, with the celebratory Last Night rounding off a season of 90 concerts in the Royal Albert Hall and across the UK. Celebrating the very best of British musicians and creativity, the BBC’s own ensembles performed in 38 Proms, more than one third of total concerts. A further 20 orchestras and over 25 choirs from all over the UK performed throughout the season, from Sir Antonio Pappano’s first Proms appearance as Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra to Sir Mark Elder’s final performance as the Hallé’s Music Director.
• Proms 2024 season has reached over 10.6 million people on TV so far
• 4.6 million streams of BBC Proms 2024 content on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds
• A peak audience of 3.3 million people watched the Last Night of the Proms on BBC One
• During the final week of the BBC Proms season, Radio 3 had 264K Sounds accounts, up more than 10% on its previous record, and up by over 20% compared to the final week of Proms 2023
• Almost 300K enjoyed the Proms live at the Royal Albert Hall, and a further 14K at concerts across the UK
• Over two thirds of Proms at the Royal Albert Hall have been total sell-outs
• Average main evening attendance at the Hall was 96%, building on 93% in 2023, with over a third attending a BBC Prom for the first time.
The Proms hosted some of the finest international orchestras including a return from the Berlin Philharmonic, the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle, and Jakub Hrůša and the Czech Philharmonic. Anne-Sophie Mutter joined Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan orchestra for an unforgettable performance, and the Orchestre de Paris made its first appearance at the Proms with Chief Conductor Klaus Mäkelä.
On the opening day of booking, with Florence Welch making her BBC Proms debut, the online queue for tickets tipped just over 80,000, and on the day of her concert, Promming tickets sold out in under 7 minutes.
In their centenary year, the BBC Singers featured in seven Proms: the First Night of the Proms, the Last Night of the Proms, Berlin Philharmonic’s Bruckner Prom, Aurora Orchestra’s Beethoven’s Ninth by Heart, BBC Singers at 100 at Bristol Beacon, CBeebies Prom – Wildlife Jamboree and in their own Late Night Prom for the world premiere of Eternity in an Hour, specially written for them by Eric Whitacre, the ensemble’s recently-announced Artist in Residence.
Audiences flocked to the Royal Albert Hall this season. Over two thirds of concerts sold out and the average audience attendance at main evening concerts was 96%. Over a third (38%) of audiences at the Royal Albert Hall were attending a Prom for the first time.
The first ever Proms residency launched at Bristol Beacon. Over 6,500 people bought tickets for the six performances that took place over the weekend. 46% of people booking tickets for the Proms were first-time visitors to the Beacon. The Proms returned to the Glasshouse International Centre for Music for a second year. Over 5,000 people attended concerts in the halls, with hundreds more enjoying the free performances on the concourse. Among these attendees, 3,500 were attending the venue for the very first time.
Sam Jackson, Controller of Radio 3 and BBC Proms says: “It has been another extraordinary Proms year – 90 concerts in the Royal Albert Hall and across the UK, bringing the finest music-making to our audiences in person and live every night on BBC Radio 3, with every concert still available to listen to on BBC Sounds until midnight on 13 October. We are hugely grateful to our teams across the country, who help bring this extraordinary and unique festival to an audience of millions.”
Suzy Klein, Head of Arts and Classical Music TV says: “I am thrilled that television audiences across this year’s Proms have been so strong yet again, with stand-out moments such as the First Night and the Last Night reaching millions of people. I’d like to thank our TV teams for their stellar work on another outstanding season – together, they continue to set the global gold standard for classical music on television. And a huge thank you to all our presenters and guests across TV and Radio for sharing their musical passion and knowledge with our audiences. Our coverage of the best in classical music continues over the coming months, ranging from BBC Young Musician and Leeds International Piano Competition, to Britten’s Curlew River from Aldeburgh Festival, Inside Classical, operas, ballet and award-winning documentaries, so there are plenty more riches for audiences to enjoy coming soon on BBC TV.”
James Ainscough OBE, Chief Executive of the Royal Albert Hall says: “It has been truly heartwarming to welcome a diverse array of artists and audiences together at the Royal Albert Hall for another sparkling season of the BBC Proms. Almost 300,000 people have come to a concert at the Hall – tens of thousands of them paying just £8 to prom in the Arena or Gallery. Special thanks to Director David Pickard, who, over the past nine years, has steered the ship, spreading the joy of music to millions. He leaves a wonderful legacy, with the BBC Proms stronger than ever.”
All BBC Proms 2024 are available on BBC Sounds until midnight, Sunday 13 October.
24 Proms 2024 programmes are available on BBC iPlayer for 12 months
Source
BBC iPlayer
