The Beeb is back

The BBC has not been in charge of every Proms season since 1927 – on the outbreak of WWII, the corporation made the decision to leave the 1940 and ’41 seasons to others as it hotfooted it out of the capital. When, with things a little quieter, it returned to the helm in 1942, a couple of notable changes had taken place. Firstly, with the Queen’s Hall having been obliterated by German bombs on the night of 10 May 1941, the festival had moved to a new home at the Royal Albert Hall. Secondly, on 16 August 1941, Henry Wood – not the keenest of orators – had given the first of the conductor’s speeches that would become a regular Last Night feature.