The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer festival of classical music, held mainly at the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington. You can book seats months ahead, or turn up on the day and stand in the Arena or Gallery for £8, the festival's best-known tradition.
The Proms began in 1895, when the conductor Henry Wood and the concert manager Robert Newman set out to bring serious music to a wide audience at low prices. "Proms" is short for promenade concerts: informal concerts where part of the audience stands. The BBC now runs the festival, broadcasts every concert on BBC Radio 3 and shows a selection on television and iPlayer.
The 2026 season ran from Friday 17 July to Saturday 12 September, with 72 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall and 13 more in other parts of the UK. The dates for 2027 had not been announced when we checked in September 2026. In 2026 the programme was online by late April, so the details below, based on the 2026 rules, show how it works and what to expect.
The Proms in brief
- When
- Mid-July to mid-September (2026: 17 July-12 September); 2027 dates not yet announced
- Main venue
- Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, South Kensington
- Standing on the day
- £8 including fees (2026), bookable from 9.30am on the day for most Proms
- Seated tickets
- Sold by the Royal Albert Hall; general booking opened on 16 May in 2026
- Dress code
- None: "come as you are"
- Under-18s
- Half price in seated areas (not the Last Night, not Promming tickets)
- Broadcast
- Every Prom live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds
What kind of concerts to expect
The core of the festival is orchestral music: symphonies, concertos and choral works played by the BBC's own orchestras and by visiting orchestras from around the world. In 2026 the programme included the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko, Martha Argerich playing Beethoven with the Munich Philharmonic, and the Metropolitan Opera's orchestra in an all-Strauss evening.
Around that core sits a much wider mix. The 2026 season also had a Marvin Gaye tribute with the BBC Concert Orchestra, a Disney evening, a brass band concert, family concerts based on the Horrible Science books and a Relaxed Prom for people who feel more comfortable with noise and movement in the hall. New music is a regular part of every season.
If you are new to classical music, a Prom is one of the least intimidating ways to try it. There is no dress code, tickets can cost less than a cinema seat, and the audience in the standing areas ranges from students to people who have come every summer for decades. For other ways to hear live music in the city, see our guide to London's live music venues.
Promming: standing tickets for £8
"Promming" means standing in the Arena, the flat floor in front of the stage, or in the Gallery, the high walkway around the top of the hall. For each concert at the Royal Albert Hall there are around 1,000 standing places. In 2026 a Day Promming ticket cost £8, including all booking fees, whether you bought it online or at the box office.
For most Proms you can book up to two Promming tickets online from 9.30am on the day of the concert, on the concert's page on the Royal Albert Hall website. Afternoon concerts and a few others went on sale at 9.30am the day before. If you cannot book online, you can buy at the box office at Door 12, subject to availability. Tickets stay on sale until five minutes before the concert, so even sold-out Proms often have standing places late in the day.
How the queue works
A Promming ticket guarantees you a place in the hall, but standing places are unreserved: you choose where to stand when you get in. Entry queuing is limited to the 90 minutes before the concert. If you want a good place at the front of the Arena, collect a queue number at Door 12 from 9am on the day, then come back in time for the doors to open. Prommers go in in queue order.
A queue number at breakfast saves your evening. For a popular Prom, pick up a numbered ticket at Door 12 in the morning, spend the day at the museums nearby, and return before the doors open. You get a good standing place without waiting outside for hours.
Arena or Gallery?
The Arena puts you close to the orchestra, with the sound coming straight at you and a clear view of the players. It is also where you stand for the whole concert. The Gallery is further away and higher up, with a view down over the whole hall. There are a limited number of seats, at the back of the Arena and Gallery and in the Choir, for Prommers who cannot stand for a whole concert; book these online from 9.30am.
Season and weekend passes
If you plan to go often, a pass costs less per concert. In 2026 a Whole Season Pass for the Arena or Gallery cost £287.60, which the BBC worked out at £4.12 per concert, and it included entry to the Last Night. Weekend Promming Passes cost £19.50 or £26.00 depending on the weekend. Passes went on sale on 14 May 2026, two days before general booking.
Booking a seat in advance
Seats in the Stalls, Boxes, Circle and Choir are sold by the Royal Albert Hall, online, by phone or in person. In 2026 the Proms Planner opened on 21 April, letting you prepare a wish list, and general booking began at 9am on Saturday 16 May. Seats for the most popular concerts can go quickly, so book early if one concert matters to you.
- Fees. Online and phone bookings in 2026 carried a fee of 2% of the total plus £2 per ticket, up to £25 per booking. Booking in person at the box office had no fee.
- Optional levy. An optional £1.50 per ticket levy was added at the Royal Albert Hall.
- Young people. Tickets for people aged 18 and under were half price in any seating area, except for the Last Night.
- Disabled concert-goers. A 50% discount for the disabled person and one companion, in all areas except the Arena and Gallery.
- Returns. The BBC advises checking the Royal Albert Hall website during the season, because returned tickets often appear.
Check the current season's prices and rules on the BBC Proms tickets guide. For resale, the BBC recommends Twickets, which sells tickets at no more than face value; be wary of other resale sites.
The Last Night of the Proms
The Last Night, on the final Saturday of the season, is the festival's famous party: a mix of serious music and British traditions, with flags, singing and a very full hall. It is broadcast widely, and it is by far the hardest ticket of the summer.
Most seats are allocated by ballot. In 2026 there were several routes in:
| Route | How it worked in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Open Ballot | 100 Centre Stalls seats at £165.20 and 100 Front Circle seats at £101.96 (including fees); closed 9 July |
| Five-Concert Ballot | For people who bought tickets to at least five other Proms; up to two Last Night tickets; closed 4 June |
| General sale | Any remaining tickets from 9am on 17 July, maximum two per booker |
| Whole Season Pass | Includes entry to the Last Night as a Prommer |
| Day Promming | £8 online from 9.30am on the day, up to two tickets |
A limited number of £8 Last Night Promming tickets were also held back for people who had prommed at five or more concerts that season, sold in person at Door 12 on set dates. Flags are welcome, but in 2026 the maximum size was 0.5 m by 1 m and flagpoles had to be shorter than 60 cm.
Plan your Last Night hopes by early June. The Five-Concert Ballot closed on 4 June in 2026, six weeks before the season began. If a Last Night ticket matters to you, buy your five other concerts as soon as general booking opens and tick the ballot opt-in box.
Getting to the Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall stands on Kensington Gore, on the south side of Kensington Gardens, opposite the Albert Memorial. South Kensington station (Piccadilly, District and Circle lines) is the usual approach: a walk of roughly 15 minutes up Exhibition Road, past the museums. High Street Kensington and Gloucester Road stations are similar distances away. Our guide to the Underground explains fares and touching in and out.
The hall's main entrances are numbered doors around the building. Door 12 is the box office and the place for Promming queue numbers. Door 12, the Café Bar and the Verdi restaurant can be entered without a concert ticket. The hall has a one-bag policy: bags up to 25 litres (about 40 x 30 x 20 cm) are allowed, and anything larger must go in the cloakroom, which cost £1 per item in 2026.
For wheelchair users, the Gallery has space for up to four wheelchairs for Promming, but the Arena is not accessible. There are bookable wheelchair spaces in the seated areas, lifts at Doors 1 and 8, and an Access Information Line (020 7070 4410). Our guide to accessible London covers getting around the city.
Making a day of it in South Kensington
The hall is at the top of the museum quarter, which makes it easy to fill the hours between collecting a queue number and the concert. The V&A and the Natural History Museum are both free and a short walk down Exhibition Road; the V&A stays open until 10pm on Fridays. Kensington Gardens is across the road for a picnic before an evening concert.
Our neighbourhood guide to South Kensington lists places to eat nearby. Check the concert's finishing time before you plan the journey back, and our page on London at night has ideas if you want to carry on.
Proms outside London and at home
The Proms are not only in London. In 2026 the festival held concerts in Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Mold, plus weekend-long festivals at the Glasshouse in Gateshead and at Bristol Beacon and St George's in Bristol. Tickets for these went on sale earlier than the London concerts, on 21 April, and some cost as little as £8 plus a booking fee.
If you cannot get to a concert, every Prom is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and streamed on BBC Sounds, and a selection is shown on BBC television and iPlayer. Availability of BBC streaming services outside the UK varies, so check before you rely on it abroad.
Practical tips for a first Prom
- Check the start time. Most Proms are in the evening, but there are afternoon concerts too, and some days have a matinée as well as an evening Prom.
- Children. The BBC recommends children at other Proms are at least five; the family Proms and the Relaxed Prom welcome all ages.
- Summer heat. The Met Office average maximum at Heathrow is 23.9°C in July and 23.4°C in August. Bring water and a light layer; a full hall on a hot evening can feel warm.
- Silence and applause. Prommers are enthusiastic, but the hall is silent during the music. Follow the audience's lead on when to clap.
If you are planning a summer trip, our month guides to London in July, August and September cover what else is on, and our tips on London on a budget show how £8 concerts fit into a cheaper trip. Theatre fans should also read our West End theatre guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much are tickets for the BBC Proms?
In 2026, Day Promming (standing) tickets cost £8 including fees for every concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Seated prices vary by concert and area. Online bookings add a fee of 2% plus £2 per ticket, up to £25.
Can you get BBC Proms tickets on the day?
Yes. About 1,000 standing Promming tickets per concert go on sale from 9.30am on the day for most Proms, online or at Door 12 of the Royal Albert Hall, even for concerts where all the seats have sold out.
What should I wear to the Proms?
There is no dress code. The BBC says "come as you are". Comfortable shoes are a good idea if you are standing in the Arena or Gallery for the whole concert.
How do you get tickets for the Last Night of the Proms?
Most seats are allocated by ballot: an Open Ballot and a Five-Concert Ballot for people who buy tickets to five other Proms. Remaining tickets go on general sale in July, and Day Promming tickets for £8 are released online on the morning of the concert.
When are the BBC Proms in 2027?
The 2027 dates had not been announced when we checked in September 2026. The festival normally runs for eight weeks from mid-July to mid-September, with the programme announced in spring.
Sources
- BBC Proms - The BBC Proms, what's it all about? (checked September 2026)
- BBC Proms - What is Promming? (checked September 2026)
- BBC Proms - Last Night tickets information (checked September 2026)
- BBC Proms - 2026 ticket prices (checked September 2026)
- BBC Proms - Going to the Proms FAQs (checked September 2026)
- BBC Proms - Accessibility at the Proms (checked September 2026)
- BBC Proms - Proms 2026 home page (checked September 2026)