The 2016 Proms Season: what are your thoughts?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Indeed! At this rate, it wouldn't surprise me if she'll be putting her name forward to be the next Prime Minister!

[Nick Armstrong]

The RT pullout 'guide' cover has La Derham in Strictly fancy dress on the cover and of the 8 pages of the guide 4 are given over wholly or in large measure to her and matters related to her participation in said activity.The actual concert listings occupy less than 3 pages space wise.
I don't have a major issue with 'different' music genres appearing at the Proms, but for heaven's sake a little bit of a nod to the major part of the content - performers etc would be nice. As it is any spare space is given over to blurb from presenters et al about 'my' picks. Yes I'm sure the official Proms guide has all this and more but I really don't need that much info.....

Can I join you on the 'Odd One Out' step please - I had exactly the same reaction on looking at the new RT. Their 'pull out guide' usually gets, well, pulled out, and spends a couple of months around the house, it's been useful for occasional browsing. Not this year. In particular, I never again want to see the ghastly saccharine expression on her face on the first of two large photos of her with some white-tie clad nonentity.

[oddoneout]

[COLOR="#0000FF"]Can I join you on the 'Odd One Out' step please -

I look forward to your company. There will be a bit of Blue Petering going on with the useful bits of the pull-out, to turn it into a trifold which can be put into a plastic sleeve for safe keeping and easy reference, once the highlighter pen has been wielded through what's on offer.

See Draco's thread: MY this; MY the other!

I did hence the 'my' !

[Nick Armstrong]

I look forward to your company. There will be a bit of Blue Petering going on with the useful bits of the pull-out, to turn it into a trifold which can be put into a plastic sleeve for safe keeping and easy reference, once the highlighter pen has been wielded through what's on offer.

It's the online options for me: the calendar here and a bookmark of the one-pager will be all I'll need.

Already deployed: booked my first Prom today - I'll be in loco parentis to a teenaged French cousin later this month, only one Prom in the relevant period is at all appealing for a 'first timer' and for me - Boléro, Rachmaninov 3rd piano concerto, Rosenkavalier suite, Munich Phil... Overcame my natural reluctance to book for a Gergiev event, and picked up some close-up seats.

[Nick Armstrong]

There will be a bit of Blue Petering going on with the useful bits of the pull-out, to turn it into a trifold which can be put into a plastic sleeve for safe keeping and easy reference, once the highlighter pen has been wielded through what's on offer.

No need oddie, if you order tickets by post - mine just arrived, and in the envelope is a very elegant and handy 'Proms at a Glance' calendar, on two sides of A5 folded in 6 to make it 'business envelope' size - just succinct concert details. That's what will be used here.


.

By the way they're re-using that silly " *Splash* Dip into the Proms " trailer again this year, I just heard.

[oddoneout]

No need oddie, if you order tickets by post - mine just arrived, and in the envelope is a very elegant and handy 'Proms at a Glance' calendar, on two sides of A5 folded in 6 to make it 'business envelope' size - just succinct concert details. That's what will be used here.

By the way they're re-using that silly " *Splash* Dip into the Proms " trailer again this year, I just heard.

That's good to know about the ticket additions, thank you, however I'm a stay at home consumer and lacking 'devices', so like a piece of paper to glance at as a quick aide memoire.
I suppose re-using an ad is a cost saving measure....Perhaps there was not enough adverse comment about it - although in these perverse times such comment seems to be taken as a positive. As a colleague pointed out when I was grumbling about the stupid smart meter ad - 'well it's achieved part of what it should in that you noticed it and are talking about it'

[Carlos V]

Hi. First time prommer here. I'm sure it has been asked before but, does anyone know how early do you need to arrive to the RAH to secure a good spot in the Arena if you have a weekend pass? Is it safe to arrive half an hour before the start time?

[bluestateprommer]

Hi. First time prommer here. I'm sure it has been asked before but, does anyone know how early do you need to arrive to the RAH to secure a good spot in the Arena if you have a weekend pass? Is it safe to arrive half an hour before the start time?

Normally, for Promming in general, arrival time depends on the particular Prom in question, whether there's a big name soloist, orchestra or conductor, and demand and audience interest may spike accordingly. However, because you have a Weekend Pass, Weekend Passes guarantee you entry up to 20 minutes before the concert, as long as you are in the Season Pass queue (if memory serves on the correct queue) by then. People with Season, Half-Season, and Weekend passes are let in first to the Arena and to the Gallery, and so get first grab at a spot (*). If you arrive <20 minutes before the start, you get sent to the back of the other queue, the Day Queue, and your chances of prime real estate drop in rough parallel with the length of the queue.

So at half an hour beforehand, with Weekend Pass in hand, in the season pass queue, you should be OK. I assume that you might be coming straight from work and/or dinner on a Friday night, so that getting to the area super-early for the pre-Proms talk might not be an option. But if you are able, perhaps on Saturday or Sunday, to get there early for the pre-Proms event, you would go to the queue first and get your place holder number from one of the stewards. Then you can go to the talk or dinner, and return to your numbered place in line.

(*) PS: This is not correct, per PhilipT's note below.

[Carlos V]

Thanks so much! I'm coming straight from work on Friday as you guessed, but I'm not going to miss the talks on Saturday and Sunday.

[PhilipT]

People with Season, Half-Season, and Weekend passes are let in first to the Arena and to the Gallery, and so get first grab at a spot.

No, no, no. The two queues for each promming area are admitted at exactly the same time. The Hall stewards go to great lengths to ensure that this is so. It's common for the head of the Arena Day queue and the head of the Arena pre-paid tickets queue to end up standing next to each other in the middle of the front row.

[Carlos V]

No, no, no. The two queues for each promming area are admitted at exactly the same time. The Hall stewards go to great lengths to ensure that this is so. It's common for the head of the Arena Day queue and the head of the Arena pre-paid tickets queue to end up standing next to each other in the middle of the front row.

Thanks! I understand that the pre-paid queue will be shorter and thus I should be able to avoid the back of the arena even if I show up just 30 minutes before start time, am I right?

[PhilipT]

Thanks! I understand that the pre-paid queue will be shorter and thus I should be able to avoid the back of the arena even if I show up just 30 minutes before start time, am I right?

You will avoid the very back; by how much depends on how many pre-paid ticket holders haven't shown up before you. You will only get the advantage of being in the shorter queue if you are in the queue at the time the doors open, that is, 45 minutes before the scheduled start for most concerts, possibly less for late night Proms.

Once the doors open, both queues are admitted simultaneously and enter at similar rates. (Everyone either has to pay, or has to have their ticket barcode scanned.) On busy nights, at some time between 45 minutes to go and 20 minutes to go, the Day queue will be held up. This is to ensure that there enough places left for those pre-paid ticket holders who have not yet arrived. With 20 minutes to go the pre-paid door is shut, the Day queue starts moving forward again, and pre-paid ticket holders are expected to join the end of the Day queue. They won't be expected to pay, because they've paid already, but they may not get in at all. Once the Arena capacity (as set by fire regulations) is met those still queuing or who arrive before the start of the concert will be turned away. On very busy nights with a very long Arena Day queue the stewards will go down the queue before the doors open and warn those beyond a certain point that they have no chance of getting in unless they transfer to the back of the Gallery Day queue (which will be conveniently close, by that time).

[Carlos V]

You will avoid the very back; by how much depends on how many pre-paid ticket holders haven't shown up before you. You will only get the advantage of being in the shorter queue if you are in the queue at the time the doors open, that is, 45 minutes before the scheduled start for most concerts, possibly less for late night Proms.

Once the doors open, both queues are admitted simultaneously and enter at similar rates. (Everyone either has to pay, or has to have their ticket barcode scanned.) On busy nights, at some time between 45 minutes to go and 20 minutes to go, the Day queue will be held up. This is to ensure that there enough places left for those pre-paid ticket holders who have not yet arrived. With 20 minutes to go the pre-paid door is shut, the Day queue starts moving forward again, and pre-paid ticket holders are expected to join the end of the Day queue. They won't be expected to pay, because they've paid already, but they may not get in at all. Once the Arena capacity (as set by fire regulations) is met those still queuing or who arrive before the start of the concert will be turned away. On very busy nights with a very long Arena Day queue the stewards will go down the queue before the doors open and warn those beyond a certain point that they have no chance of getting in unless they transfer to the back of the Gallery Day queue (which will be conveniently close, by that time).

Thank you! It's all so much more clear now.

[Serial_Apologist]

Thank you! It's all so much more clear now.

-> -> -> -> ->

[Lawrence]

I keep hearing trailers for a "Strictly" Prom. I wonder what Sir Henry would make of it?