Prom 49: What time should I arrive to Prom?

[Guest]

Hello to those on the forum! I am hoping to 'Prom' for the first time on Sunday, for Prom 49. I have read the thread advice for first time Prommers, for which, thank you. I had been hoping to arrive early and to save a spot in the queue for a friend who cannot join me till later. However, it seems that this is not the thing to do. Given that, when is the latest that one might expect to get tickets? I think that we shall be able to queue together from about 5 pm. Any advice for a novice would be jolly helpful.

Many thanks.

[french frank]

Hello LF - and welcome! I'll leave it to the regulars to offer the advice - which I'm sure they will. If not ......

[french frank]

Bump. Any thoughts to advise a first-time Prommer?

Sunday 19 August at 7.30 p.m.
Royal Albert Hall
Yeoman of the Guard?

[teamsaint]

i am hoping to prom at the RVW prom tomorrow, so will try to see what q's are like around 5 ish and post the results...though I would assume people Queue a bit earlier at weekends.

[David-G]

Last Saturday, for the Berlioz "Grand Messe", which had a packed house, I arrived at 4.15 and was number 91 in the queue. I was given a queue ticket immediately (with a higher number because the tickets do not start at 1!). They came around selling the actual tickets at about 5.20. I went to the talk in the Royal College of Music from 5.45 to 6.30; this was really interesting. The queue reformed after the talk, "moved forward" about 6.37, and we were admitted to the hall at 6.45.

Based on this (single) experience, I would say that if you arrive at 5, you should have no problem getting into the Arena. But of course, things may not be the same this Saturday...

If you want to get a programme while queuing, I would advise doing it early, as the box office and the shop for some reason are given a really small number of programmes. You may have more luck in the first-floor bar/cafe (on the south-facing side of the hall), but if you go there, make sure you have the exact money, as waiting for them to open the till can take forever!

[London Fearn]

Thank you so much. Very helpful and encouraging. The more I learn about this, the more I am looking forward to the actual event.

[bluestateprommer]

For LF, another factor to consider is whether you want to Prom in the Arena or the Gallery. The Arena has more space and the longer queue, of course, so if you're not averse to a mad dash up the stairs to secure a decent spot along a rail in the Gallery, that's another option. Also, given that Prom 49 is on a Sunday evening, I don't know if the need to get to work the next morning might put some off, though not the diehards, to be sure. Besides your cell phone, of course, remember to bring a good book just in case :) .

[teamsaint]

I did check on thursday at 5.00 Pm. The arena queue was not even down to the bottom of the steps, so I guess there may have been 200 people on it by then. (we were ticket no 50 and were about 1/3 of the way down the queue. I guess people may start earlier at weekends, but n last nights evidence I think 5.00 PM should see you in fine. I do hope so, and hope you have a great time.

[London Fearn]

Thank you all so much for your advice, what a lovely lot of people you are. My friend and I went to Prom 49, with a better understanding of the etiquette of promming than we would otherwise have had, and we so enjoyed it. We stood in the Arena, really very close to the stage, and we were able to go to the talk beforehand too. A great experience, I found the music and the atmosphere thrilling. I suspect it won't be long before I'm queuing again.