Heart-warming, silly and moving – and as Rule Britannia soared the Last Night showed it is truly indestructible
It’s a sad fact that the Last Night, that harmless musical party, has become an ideological battleground.
In 2020 tempers got more than usually frayed thanks to the BLM movement, and the Proms management decided to cut the words to Rule Britannia – only to backtrack after an intervention from Boris Johnson. But it was still a sadly muted rendition, as the pandemic put paid to audience participation. Last year’s Last Night didn’t happen at all, owning to the death of the Queen two days previously.
After all that we needed a Last Night which would prove that it isn’t jinxed, and can still give us an unapologetically good time. I’m pleased to say that’s exactly what we got.
On stage, as ever, was the stalwart BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Chorus and BBC Singers, and on the podium the American Marin Alsop, marking the 10th anniversary of the night when she became the first female conductor to lead the Last Night.