The Proms

The Proms concerts last for eight weeks—it's a nightly summer season bonanza of music—the number of concerts and events hovering around 100. A lot of it is classical, but there's plenty for people who, for example, like the scores from films or musicals, more than they fancy a symphony or concerto. It's cheap too—supposedly the world's most democratic music festival, as decreed by someone famous from the music world whose name I don't recognise.

The main venue is the Albert Hall, which hosts 70 concerts of its own, but there are also a series of chamber concerts and the Proms in the Park for everyone who would prefer to listen out in the open rather than in the hall where you can't take a walk around or have a picnic dinner. There are people who go to every concert or have a season ticket, but in most cases you have to buy your ticket on the day, which could be more democratic if it didn't exclude people who have to go to work in the morning, but it is quite entertaining to go by on the bus and see all the little grey haired old ladies in a neat queue. Traditionally, the thing to do is to stand for the performances, the initial idea was to promenade around the hall and have a little indoor picnic, but that's not allowed any more, sigh, and you can buy seated tickets if that's a more realistic option for you.