Proud Sikh tenor who flew the flag for Britain at Proms
A SIKH tenor performed at The Last Night of the Proms while wearing a Union Jack turban as Remainers attempted to hand out 11,500 EU flags to concertgoers.
Jasbir Sidhu, 48, wore the patriotic head covering as he sang Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem in the BBC’s Symphony Chorus on Saturday night.
Mr Sidhu, a managing director of a corporate risk company, has performed at The Proms for seven years and said he was ‘very proud’ to be a British Sikh. He said: ‘The Last Night for me is about seeing everyone dressed up and ready to have a party, accompanied by some great musicians from all around the world. It’s wonderful to see everyone united and wanting to have a good time. And I’m very proud to be a British Sikh.’ His performance came after 30 Remainers attempted to hand out EU flags having raised more than £4,000 on a crowdfunding page.
The campaigners, who travelled from across the UK, chanted ‘free EU flags’ as they held placards including messages such as ‘sod Brexit’. Concertgoers said the ‘inappropriate’ campaigners were turning ‘an artistic event into a political one’.
Peter Williams, a 64-year-old dentist from Lowestoft, Suffolk, said: ‘I thought it was inappropriate really. This is a celebration of classical music with an emphasis on the celebration of being British rather than European.
‘That’s my view on it and it should be non-political. Brexit is definitely a political statement. It should be completely away from politics.’
Elizabeth Anderson, 32, from Bexley, London, has been to the Proms for the past ten years and said the campaigners were ‘trying to ruin what is quintessentially a British event’.
A BBC spokesman said: ‘As part of the tradition of the Last Night, flags are permitted, within the Royal Albert Hall’s guidelines, and as always, there were a huge range of flags on display in the hall.’