Prom at the Palace

Last updated

Prom at the Palace
Commemoration concert by various artists
Prom at the Palace.jpg
Logo
Venue Buckingham Palace Garden, London, England
Date(s)1 June 2002 (2002-06-01)
Duration2 hours

The Prom at the Palace was a classical music concert held in London in 2002, in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. [1] [2] It was held at Buckingham Palace Garden on 1 June 2002 and formed part of the Golden Jubilee Weekend. [1] It was the classical equivalent of the Party at the Palace, a pop/rock music event. [1] Its name reflects the popular season of classical concerts held at the Royal Albert Hall, The Proms. The event was broadcast by the BBC and shown in more than 40 countries. [2] It was directed by Nicholas Kenyon. [3]

Contents

Event and venue

The concert was held in Buckingham Palace Garden as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. The event was touted as the greatest classical concert in Britain in many years, in part due to the quality of performers gathered on a single stage. Tickets were determined by a lottery and 3,000 telephone lines were set up to deal with the calls from applicants. [3] Around two million applications were submitted to attend either the Party or the Prom at the Palace. [4] Twelve thousand people attended the latter, including 125 guests in the royal box, among whom were eighteen members of the royal family. [1] [2]

This was the first time that the Queen had ever opened the garden up to the public and heralded similar celebrations, both during the Golden Jubilee Year of 2002 and in 2006 for her 80th birthday celebrations, which included a party for fellow octogenarians and a Children's Prom at the Palace.

Performers

Orchestras at the Prom included HM Royal Marines Portsmouth, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Chorus, and the London Adventist Chorale. The compere, Michael Parkinson, asked the audience to stand as the Queen, wearing a lime green suit, entered the Royal Box with the Duke of Edinburgh and took her place with the royal family. Individual performers included Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Julian Bliss, Ashley Wass, Zenaida Yanowsky, Roberto Bolle, Angela Gheorghiu, Thomas Allen, Mstislav Rostropovich and Roberto Alagna. [1]

Concert

The concert was the opening of the Golden Jubilee Weekend. In Buckingham Palace Garden, 12,000 guests each sat in their seats and ate a picnic dinner. [1] They were provided with hampers packed with champagne, smoked salmon wrap, Jubilee chicken and strawberries and cream by the palace. [2] The performances were done on a large stage constructed specially for the event. The performances were synchronized for ballet presentations inside the Palace and broadcast to the crowds in the garden. The concert ended with "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1", followed by the national anthem "God Save the Queen". [1] At the end, the Queen stepped outside the palace to greet 40,000 people who were watching the event on wide screens in The Mall. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

The BBC Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The BBC SO is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Proms</span> Annual classical music concerts in London

The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. The 2023 Proms season ran from Friday 14 July to Saturday 9 September. The Proms were founded in 1895, and are now organised and broadcast by the BBC. Each season consists of concerts in the Royal Albert Hall, chamber music concerts at Cadogan Hall, additional Proms in the Park events across the UK on the Last Night of the Proms, and associated educational and children's events. The season is a significant event in British culture and in classical music. Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek described the Proms as "the world's largest and most democratic musical festival".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckingham Palace Garden</span> Garden in London

Buckingham Palace Garden is a large private park attached to the London residence of the British monarch. It is situated to the rear (west) of Buckingham Palace, occupying a 17-hectare (42-acre) site in the City of Westminster and forms the largest private garden in London. It is bounded by Constitution Hill to the north, Hyde Park Corner to the west, Grosvenor Place to the south-west, and the Royal Mews, Queen's Gallery, and Buckingham Palace itself to the south and east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen's Hall</span> Former concert hall in Langham Place, London (1893-1941)

The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert Newman together with Henry Wood. The hall had drab decor and cramped seating but superb acoustics. It became known as the "musical centre of the [British] Empire", and several of the leading musicians and composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries performed there, including Claude Debussy, Edward Elgar, Maurice Ravel and Richard Strauss.

The BBC Symphony Chorus is a British amateur chorus based in London. It is the dedicated chorus for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, though it performs with other national and international orchestras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II</span> 25th anniversary of the monarchs accession

The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth throughout 1977, culminating in June with the official "Jubilee Days", held to coincide with the Queen's Official Birthday. The anniversary date itself was commemorated in church services across the land on 6 February 1977, and continued to be for the rest of that month. In March, preparations started for large parties in every major city of the United Kingdom, as well as for smaller ones for countless individual streets throughout the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II</span> 50th anniversary of the monarchs accession

The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as monarch and an opportunity for her to officially and personally thank her people for their loyalty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Davis (conductor)</span> English conductor (born 1944)

Sir Andrew Frank Davis is an English conductor. He is conductor laureate of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party at the Palace</span> Pop/rock concert commemorating the golden jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

The Party at the Palace was a British pop/rock music concert held at Buckingham Palace Garden in London on 3 June 2002. The event was in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II held over the Golden Jubilee Weekend. It was the pop/rock equivalent of the Prom at the Palace, that showcased classical music. 10 years later the Diamond Jubilee Concert for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee was held in 2012, followed by the Platinum Party at the Palace for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022.

The Suffolk Youth Orchestra (SYO) is a symphony orchestra of over 90 players aged between 13 and 21 years. It is part of Suffolk County Council's programme of youth music.

The Opera Babes are an English crossover classical music duo, consisting of Karen England, mezzo-soprano, and Rebecca Knight, soprano.

Jubilee chicken can refer to one of several chicken dishes created to celebrate the jubilees of different British monarchs.

John Wilson is a British conductor, arranger and musicologist, who conducts orchestras and operas, as well as big band jazz. He is the artistic director of Sinfonia of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II</span> 60th anniversary of the monarchs accession

The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for Queen Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Jubilee Concert</span> 2012 British music concert commemorating Queen Elizabeth IIs diamond jubilee

The Diamond Jubilee Concert was a British music concert and celebration held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2012. The concert was organised by Take That singer-songwriter Gary Barlow and was part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond Jubilee Pageant</span>

The Diamond Jubilee Pageant, also branded The World Comes to Windsor, held between 10 and 13 May 2012 was an equine pageant held in the grounds of Windsor Castle, organised as part of the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II</span> 70th anniversary of the monarchs accession

The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration in 2022 marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was the first time that any monarch in British history celebrated a platinum jubilee, as is the case in the histories of the other Commonwealth realms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platinum Party at the Palace</span> Music concert held outside Buckingham Palace, commemorating Queen Elizabeth IIs platinum jubilee

The Platinum Party at the Palace was a British music concert, held outside Buckingham Palace on The Mall in London on 4 June 2022, in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The concert began at 20:00 (BST). Comedian Lee Mack served as host for the event while the Queen appeared with Paddington Bear in a pre-recorded comedy segment, which showed her offering tea to Paddington, pulling a marmalade sandwich from her handbag and tapping her tea cup to the beat of "We Will Rock You". Prince William spoke about the state of the natural world and pointed out his family's involvement with tackling environmental issues, while the Prince of Wales gave the closing speech and paid tribute to his mother's "lifetime of selfless service". Pre-taped messages of tribute from Sir Paul McCartney and former US First Lady Michelle Obama were also played during the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Platinum Jubilee Pageant</span> June 2022 Event

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant was held on Sunday, 5 June 2022 near Buckingham Palace, as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Conceived and directed by David Zolkwer with Pageant Master, Adrian Evans, it featured over 10,000 people from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and combined street arts, music, puppets, carnival and costume to celebrate the Queen's reign, as well as honouring the collective service of people and communities across the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Trooping the Colour</span> Parade for the Queens Official Birthday

The 2022 Trooping the Colour ceremony was held on Thursday 2 June 2022, as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II. Over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses, and 400 musicians came together in the traditional parade to mark the Queen's Official Birthday, which usually takes place on the second Saturday of June. It was the final Birthday Parade to take place under the reign of Elizabeth II before her death on 8 September later that year.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Classical stars celebrate jubilee". BBC. 1 June 2002. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Grand finale to Jubilee concert". BBC. 1 June 2002. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 "McCartney and John top Jubilee gig". BBC. 26 February 2002. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  4. "Two million apply for Jubilee concerts". BBC. 19 March 2002. Retrieved 11 June 2022.