Proms 2021 General topics

[teamsaint]

I think of it this way. Going to the Proms has been the highlight of every summer for me (apart from last year, obviously) since 1978. However, there is so much attendant hassle involved this year as to make it no pleasure at all and pleasure is what it should be all about. Where is the pleasure in being in a concert hall wearing a mask and worrying about the person sitting next to you? Ditto travelling on the tube. In addition, I have a real fear that by mid season the whole thing could collapse with restrictions back in place.

I'm a diehard Prom-goer but I've weighed up the pros and cons and, sad to say, the latter romp home by a comfortable margin.

I feel your pain Pet, we all know what it means to you. I certainly agree about sitting in a warm hall with a mask on for a whole concert.
FWIW, and just by way of info, I spent a weekday in London a couple of weeks ago, and it was very quiet. Off peak, the tubes had about 4 people per carriage. Trains in and out from Richmond were about 25/50% capacity. Shops in the centre of town very quiet too. I wonder what experience London based forumites have recently of central London ?

Currently I am tempted by the Malcolm Arnold Prom, just because it is such a rare opportunity, but the constraints on attendance aren't encouraging me, though I'm not really worried about the risks.

[Petrushka]

I feel your pain Pet, we all know what it means to you. I certainly agree about sitting in a warm hall with a mask on for a whole concert.
FWIW, and just by way of info, I spent a weekday in London a couple of weeks ago, and it was very quiet. Off peak, the tubes had about 4 people per carriage. Trains in and out from Richmond were about 25/50% capacity. Shops in the centre of town very quiet too. I wonder what experience London based forumites have recently of central London ?

Currently I am tempted by the Malcolm Arnold Prom, just because it is such a rare opportunity, but the constraints on attendance aren't encouraging me, though I'm not really worried about the risks.

The Tube is an interesting consideration to bear in mind when the majority of the audience (or so it seems) make their way down Exhibition Road to a very crowded South Kensington Station. The Piccadilly line is quite frequently packed post-concert. So are the buses. The only option would be to hang around and wait until it's quieter. Weighing everything that you do during the day (shopping, museum visit, eating out etc) plus the hotel and train ticket scenario renders it, in my view, unviable.

[Nick Armstrong]

I wonder what experience London based forumites have recently of central London ?

Will reply to this when I get a few moments!

[teamsaint]

The Tube is an interesting consideration to bear in mind when the majority of the audience (or so it seems) make their way down Exhibition Road to a very crowded South Kensington Station. The Piccadilly line is quite frequently packed post-concert. So are the buses. The only option would be to hang around and wait until it's quieter. Weighing everything that you do during the day (shopping, museum visit, eating out etc) plus the hotel and train ticket scenario renders it, in my view, unviable.

Points taken Pet. You are quite right of course about the tube ,post concert, though of course if staying in London that is relatively easily avoided with a short wait .

[duncan]

I wonder what experience London based forumites have recently of central London ?

TfL reports tube journeys were back at 42 million in June (106 million in June 2019) and rising. I guess they will be around 50% of pre-pandemic use in July and August.

Mask-wearing seems to have dropped a little this week. It was always rather poorly observed on buses in Tottenham but the good souls of the Northern Line were previously well-behaved.

[Simon B]

It would appear (but nowhere is this stated that I can find) that now that additional tickets have been released for the first batch of concerts, they are still socially distanced, just with additional parts of the hall opened.

I deduce this from the observation that there appear to be no stalls seats available for any concert including some that I judge to be in the "wouldn't be that popular even in normal times" category. It looks like the previously unavailable circle has been opened up to a degree which can't be discerned but no additional seats put on sale in areas that were previously available.

Does anyone actually know?

[Simon B]

Re the tube: As a non-Londoner (but 50+ times a year visitor before all this started) I've made a few trips to London in recent weeks which involved the tube. It seemed near-deserted later in the evenings. I twice had the entire rear carriage to myself catching the Westbound District at Embankment at 10pm, though that was a deliberate ploy to avoid the Piccadilly from Leicester Square/Covent Garden which I reasoned might be a much dodgier proposition.

It did seem to be getting busier during the daytime with each successive visit though. On one occasion I bailed and walked the last 2 miles instead - South Ken on a Saturday afternoon. Lots of people from the museums etc getting on already reasonably full trains. Pre-Covid they would have been heaving in this area, now they were just too busy for my (provincial oik) comfort.

The RAH is so far from South Ken (or the better choice in my view, Gloucester Rd) that IMV for many destinations it is better to avoid the crush entirely by walking across the park for Central at Lancaster Gate or Circle/H&C/District/Bakerloo at Paddington which won't have thousands of people all turn up at once.

Note that the Piccadilly isn't calling at South Ken until next year which will compound issues there.

[ucanseetheend]

Now that Gov says proms can have full capacity, what is the position with arena standing . Can we get on the day of a concert and how many will be available?

[teamsaint]

Now that Gov says proms can have full capacity, what is the position with arena standing . Can we get on the day of a concert and how many will be available?

https://www.classical-music.com/news/bbc-proms-to-open-at-full-capacity-this-year/

Promming appears to be in a full capacity arena, purchase online only, and you need your electronic covid tag to get in.

Fully masked is “ strongly encouraged”. Personally I wouldn’t feel any safer in the arena whether everybody or nobody was masked. But there you go. And in a hot RAH it will be very unpleasant I would think.

[Prommer]

Well, it is good news that the Proms will now be at full capacity, even if the programmes are not exactly the most enticing (which means few will actually reach full capacity) - and also good that masks are not to be compulsory. Those who find this too risky (whether due to genuine vulnerability or lockdown love) would of course be wise to stay away.

[Constantbee]

Information about televising Proms performances seems to to be late arriving, or have I missed something? An article on this website, not one I would normally visit but it'll do, dated 5 July mentions screenings but no dates. It's now been updated, though:

https://www.classical-music.com/features/articles/when-are-bbc-proms-tv/

On the face of it it looks as if a good spread of musical interests are represented. Probably the best broadcast selection I've seen in recent years, in fact.

[LMcD]

Information about televising Proms performances seems to to be late arriving, or have I missed something? An article on this website, not one I would normally visit but it'll do, dated 5 July mentions screenings but no dates. It's now been updated, though:

https://www.classical-music.com/features/articles/when-are-bbc-proms-tv/

On the face of it it looks as if a good spread of musical interests are represented. Probably the best broadcast selection I've seen in recent years, in fact.

If you google 'BBC Proms 2021 schedule' you'll find plenty of information regarding televised concerts.

[Nick Armstrong]

Will reply to this when I get a few moments!

it is better to avoid the crush entirely by walking across the park for Central at Lancaster Gate or Circle/H&C/District/Bakerloo at Paddington which won't have thousands of people all turn up at once.

Both are not far from my manor… and I think I’d endorse this advice - I can’t speak for the tubes and buses themselves as I haven’t used either for years, let alone in covid times. But my cycle constitutionals take me into the park at Lancaster Gate, and I can say that apart from sunny weekend afternoons, it’s been noticeably less busy than previous years. Indeed, for a week or so now, the park and surrounding roads have been spookily quiet - one sunny afternoon this week, the roads were almost empty as were the main thoroughfares inside the park.

Leaving oneself the time to get across seems very sensible to me. An alternative to walking would be the Santander bikes - there’s a station of bikes just outside Lancaster Gate tube, and another (big one) just alongside the RAH to the west on Kensington Gore.

[jbareham]

Finally decided to give the Proms a miss for the first time since I started coming in 2001. Although I (and friends I bring) have been vaccinated, I suspect queuing will be slower given the need to check Covid passes. I certainly wouldn't want to be wearing a mask for the best part of 2-3 hours in a hot RAH. Although I'm now retired, my friends are still working and have kids and school holidays to think about, so didn't want to run the risk of them getting pinged by Track and Trace and ruining plans they may have made. It won't be the normal Proms experience this year, so will watch the odd concert from home. Having looked at the RAH website and tickets still availabile for every concert, I suspect many other regular Proms goers have taken a similar view. Can only hope normality returns for next year.

[King_Ouf_I]

I take all the comments about the risks of attending concerts this season with due seriousness. With specific regard to the ventilation in the Royal Albert Hall, I can’t see anyone commenting on this excerpt from the RAH FAQ webpage:

“Q. How is air circulated in your old Victorian building?”

“A. We might be old but our air isn’t, thank you very much. Our air handling system is fed by filtered fresh air. Used air is extracted to the outside and is not recirculated. Filters are changed as part of regular, routine maintenance and we have full control over the air system – both fan speed and temperature – throughout the auditorium.

While the Hall was closed to the public, we have successfully raised £900,000 for our major ventilation project to enhance the Hall's air quality. Thanks to donations from our audiences, Members and Major Donors, we have been able to complete this project in good time for the Hall's reopening.”