Review: BBC PROMS: LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS 2025, Royal Albert Hall

After 86 concerts spanning over the past eight weeks, the 130th season of the Proms has come to a close, ending with the iconic Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, which has hosted over 3,000 musicians these past few months. This performance brought together the BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Symphony Orchestra under conductor Elim Chan, with some special guests joining in for the 3 ½-hour performance.

For the uninitiated, be warned - Last Night of the Proms is not your average classical music performance. To start, there are dozens of flags being waved, the majority representing the UK and the EU, but other countries are present as well. The promenaders are ready to party, setting off confetti poppers and waving not only flags but a range of objects, including an inflatable banana. 

The night kicks off with Modest Mussorgsky’s “A Night on the Bare Mountain,” one of my personal favourites, as one of the many who grew up with Disney’s Fantasia, which combined animation and classical music. Chan is also a fan of the film, saying in a speech to the audience that she fell in love with conducting watching Mickey Mouse conduct and getting to live her childhood dream at the Royal Albert Hall by conducting “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” herself! 

The first guest of the night, Alison Balsom, who is giving her final performance before retirement, gives audiences a spectacular rendition of Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s “Trumpet Concert in E flat major,” making a twenty-minute piece fly by in what feels like seconds. It is a shame that this is my first and last time seeing her perform, but it felt like an honour to witness Balsom’s performance. The other two guests are vocalists, starting with mezzo-soprano, Axelle Saint-Cirel, who gives a beautiful performance of the “‘Storm Clouds’ Cantata” from Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. The second vocalist, soprano Louise Alder, gives several performances throughout the night, including gorgeous renditions of the “Jewel Song” from Charles-François Gounod’s Faust and Franz Lehár’s “Vilja Song” from The Merry Widow.

Sir Brian May and Roger Taylor joined the orchestra to perform Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. May played the iconic guitar solo on the equally iconic Red Special, while Taylor was given the honour of playing the final note on a large gong that had been wheeled to the centre of the stage. They were also joined by tenor Sam Oladeinde, who did a lovely job with the more classical arrangement of the song, as well as both Alder and Balsom. The arrangement could have been more energised, and there were times when the musicians and the vocalists felt disjointed, but the audience roared its approval, giving the song a standing ovation. 

An unexpected highlight of the night? Bill Bailey’s performance of “The Typewriter” by Leroy Anderson, in which the comedian performs on - as one may have guessed - a typewriter, playing along with the orchestra in a silly yet musically sound piece. Musical theatre fans will enjoy the My Fair Lady medley, led by Louise Alder and arranged by Paul Campbell. There is also a particularly impressive rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs” which brings some jazz into the show and gives Balsom another chance to shine. 

The commissioned songs for the evening, while sentimental, left a bit to be desired. “Fireworks” by Camille Pépin does a fantastic job of replicating what a fireworks show feels like with music instead of visuals, but it can only do so much within the six minutes it is given. Rachel Portman’s “The Gathering Tree” is given half that time, with only three minutes for a song dedicated to the human experience through the Proms themselves. It sounds very much like a liturgical song, focusing on the human spirit instead of the Holy Spirit. 

Finally, the night ends as it always does, with Wood’s “Fantasia on British Sea-Songs” and patriotic sing-alongs of “Rule, Britannia!,” “Pomp and Circumstance,” “Jerusalem” and “The National Anthem” before ending with “Auld lang syne.”

Last Night of the Proms is a lovely send-off to a wonderful summer of performances at the Royal Albert Hall. Whether it’s a performance from rock legends or a two-minute piece with the typewriter as the central instrument, there is something for everyone on this programme. Here’s to the 131st season, beginning on 17 July 2026!

The BBC Proms ran at the Royal Albert Hall until 13 September.

Photo Credits: Chris Christodoulou