The Notting Hill Carnival is a glorious celebration of the Caribbean heritage of generations of Londoners. It’s one of the highlights of our cultural calendar, along with Wimbledon, Royal Ascot and the British Bog Snorkelling Championships. So imagine if someone decided it was ‘hideously black’ and had to be shorn of its steel bands, dub … Read more
The Last of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia will be played at the Last Night of the Proms after Downing Street waded into the row and told the BBC that the centuries-old patriotic songs should not be cancelled. The BBC was understood to be considering dropping the anthems from the concert on September 12 … Read more
The Finnish conductor leading this year’s Last Night of the Proms has pledged support for Black Lives Matter and is married to a rock star, it emerged today. Dalia Stasevska is preparing for the biggest night of her career on September 12 when she conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra at London’s Royal Albert Hall. But … Read more
Academics and musicians are facing a backlash over their demands to axe Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory from Last Night of the Proms after they claimed the anthems represent ‘racist imperial propaganda’ that ‘celebrate the British Empire’. Campaigner Inaya Folarin Iman said criticism of either of the songs was ‘absurd,’ amid claims … Read more
How grimly ironic that hope and freedom should be among the potential latest victims of ‘cancel culture’, the drive to eradicate anything and anyone that sins against the ideology of political correctness. For decades, music-loving crowds at The Last Night of the Proms have lifted up their voices in an Elgar sing-along, roaring out ‘Land … Read more
British anthems Rule, Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory could be axed from the BBC Proms amid the Black Lives Matter movement, an insider has claimed. The broadcaster is considering dropping the patriotic songs from the Last Night concert due to fears of a backlash because of their apparent links to colonialism and slavery, … Read more
Rule, Britannia originates from the poem of the same name by Scottish poet and playwright James Thomson, and was set to music by English composer Thomas Arne in 1740. It gained popularity in the UK after it was first played in London in 1745 and became symbolic of the British Empire, most closely associated with … Read more