LAST NIGHT OF THE PRIMS
RULE, Britannia! and Land Of Hope And Glory WILL be sung at The Last Night Of The Proms after a shock U- turn by the BBC.
The patriotic anthems will be belted out at the Royal Albert Hall next week.
BBC bosses wanted to feature instrumental versions of the songs because Covid- 19 rules meant they could not bring together big choirs.
But critics feared the lyrics were being ditched amid concerns they championed Britain’s colonial past. The plan led to huge anger among patriotic TV viewers. This year’s Last Night on September 12 will be scaled back due to the pandemic.
But a BBC spokesman said: “We have been looking hard at what else might be possible and we have a solution.
“Both pieces will now include a select group of BBC Singers.
“This means the words will be sung in the Hall, and as we have always made clear, audiences will be free to sing along at home.” The statement added: “While it can’t be a full choir, and we are unable to have audiences in the Hall, we are doing everything possible to make it special and want a Last Night truly to remember.
“We hope everyone will welcome this solution. We think the night itself will be a very special moment for the country and one that is much needed after a difficult period for everyone.
“It will not be a usual Last Night, but it will be a night not just to look forward to, but to remember.”
The announcement came after Tim Davie, left, took over as the
BBC’S director- general.
He is expected to go to war on luvvies’ domination of BBC comedy shows amid claims comics who supported Brexit were effectively “blacklisted”.
Last night, Downing Street said Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the decision to reinstate the lyrics.
And Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was “the right decision”.
Mr Johnson told Tory MPS: “I do think this country is going through an orgy of national embarrassment about some of the things that other people around the world love most about us.
“People love our traditions and our history with all its imperfections.
“It’s crazy for us to go around trying to censor it.
“It’s absolutely absurd and I think we should speak out loud and proud for the UK and our history.”
WHAT a sorry mess the BBC has made over the Last Night Of The Proms.
Auntie was forced into a humiliating U- turn yesterday over its decision to ditch the lyrics to Rule, Britannia! and Land Of Hope And Glory.
They will now be performed as they should have been all along – with the words.
Nobody was kicking off before about these songs. And yet the Beeb still managed to create a completely avoidable disaster over the issue.
Overpaid bosses at the corporation are so worried about creating a social media backlash they go out of their way to try to water everything down.
It is utterly pathetic.
They fail to see the bigger picture. It’s not as if there isn’t anything better for them to do.
Free TV licences for the over- 75s were cruelly stripped away recently.
BBC bigwigs should be focusing on restoring them, along with other issues that actually matter.
Instead of wasting everyone’s time with nonsense.