Time to stop ‘cringe’ about UK history, says Johnson
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for an end to“selfrecrimination and wetness” as the BBC’S chief said it was “right” to remove lyrics from some traditional anthems at the Last Night of the Proms.
The BBC’S director-general Lord Hall said the decision to perform new, orchestral versions of Rule, Britannia! and Land Of Hope And Glory was a“creative” one, but confirmed there had been discussions around dropping songs.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for an end to“selfrecrimination and wetness” as the BBC’S chief said it was “right” to remove lyrics from some traditional anthems at the Last Night of the Proms.
The BBC’ s director-general Lord Hall said the decision to perform new, orchestral versions of Rule, Britannia! and Land Of Hope And Glory was a “creative” one.
But he confirmed that the issue of dropping songs because of their association with Britain’s imperial histo - ry had been discussed.
His interview aired after the Prime Minister voiced his concern over the issue, saying he wanted to get his thoughts “off my chest”.
“I just want to say... if it is correct, which I cannot believe that it really is, but if it is correct, that the BBC is saying that they will not sing the words of Land Of Hope And Glory or Rule, Britannia! as they traditionally do at the end of The Last Night of the Proms.
“I think it’s time we stopped our cringing embarrassment about our history, about our traditions, and about our culture, and we stopped this general bout of self-recrimination and wetness,” he said during a visit to Devon on Tuesday.
There will ben olive audience to sing along and wave flag sat the 23 September concert because of corona virus restrictions.
Lord Hall said it was a “miracle” that Proms boss David Pick a rd had put together a fortnight of live performances amid the pandemic.