The 2025 BBC Proms season kicks off tonight, with 86 concerts spread over 8 weeks.
As ever, we've got the 2025 Proms full listings elsewhere on our site. But with so many Proms to choose from, deciding where to start can be daunting - so we’re here to help. Here is our list of this year’s top 15 Proms, showcasing the range and quality of the world’s biggest classical music festival.
1. First Night of the Proms
Friday 18 July, 6.45pm, £26-£86
A thrilling kickoff to this year’s Proms season
Swinging this year’s festival into action, conductor Sakari Oramo guides the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus and London Youth Choirs through Arthur Bliss’s Birthday Fanfare for Henry Wood; Mendelssohn’s stirring ‘Hebrides’ Overture; Sibelius’s icily beautiful Violin Concerto, featuring violinist Lisa Batiashvili (pictured); the world premiere of The Elements, a brand new orchestral showcase by Master of the King's Music Errollyn Wallen; and Vaughan Williams’s mystical, apocalyptic oratorio Sancta civitas.
2. Boulez and Berio: 20th-Century Giants
Wed 23 July, 10.15pm, £11-£37
A chance to hear two unforgettable 20th-century composers
Showcasing two equally inventive yet utterly distinct composers, this programme features the virtuosity of trombonist Lucas Ounissi in Luciano Berio's (pictured) playful Sequenza V, the haunting interplay of clarinet and live electronics in Pierre Boulez’s Dialogue de l’ombre double, and the theatrical flair of Berio’s Recital I with soprano Sarah Aristidou. Featuring Ensemble intercontemporain and IRCAM.
3. The Traitors
Sat 26 July, 3pm & 7.30pm, £33-£110
Gothic intrigue meets haunting classics in a programme inspired by the hit TV show
Claudia Winkleman presents a Prom steeped in gothic drama and intrigue, inspired by the shadowy world of The Traitors. Expect orchestral favourites, operatic betrayals, melodramatic hits from the show, special guest vocalists, and a new twist on the iconic Traitors theme. Karen Ní Bhroin conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers.
4. Arvo Pärt at 90
Thur 31 July, 10.15pm, £10-£28
A milestone birthday celebration for a trailblazer of holy minimalism
Tõnu Kaljuste and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir celebrate Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday with a programme featuring Pärt’s sacred minimalism alongside Rachmaninov’s Vespers and works by Pärt’s colleagues: fellow Estonian Veljo Tormis and Ukraine-born, Estonia-resident Galina Grigorjeva. Among the highlights is the UK premiere of Pärt’s Für Jan van Eyck, inspired by the "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers.
5. Soul Revolution
Sun 3 August, 7.30pm, £11-£56
A soulful journey through music that empowered, united and inspired change
Presented by Trevor Nelson, with the BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, this performance explores the journey from spirituals through gospel to soul. Featuring legendary songs made famous by Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone (pictured) and Aretha Franklin, alongside hidden gems, it highlights how these genres empowered the Civil Rights movement and fostered community with their infectious rhythms.
6. From Dark Till Dawn
Fri 8 August, 11pm, £11-£256
A night-long blend of choral gems, folk revelry, Bach and piano brilliance
In this eclectic Prom, curated by organist and TikTok sensation Anna Lapwood (pictured), performances continue from 11pm until beyond the dawn chorus. The programme features choral classics with Lapwood’s Pembroke College Choir; Barokksolistene’s spirited Nordic Alehouse Sessions mixing British and Scandinavian folk music to create a tavern-like atmosphere; solo Bach from cellist Anastasia Kobekina; and a Proms debut from pianist and YouTube star Hayato Sumino.
7. Mahler’s Third
Mon 11 August 7pm, £11-£56
A symphony that captures the vast scale and depth of existence
Gustav Mahler’s huge, nature-inspired Symphony No. 3 is brought to life by conductor Ryan Bancroft, with mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and others. From its bold opening to its contemplative finale, the 96-minute work moves through marches, dances, and birdsong—capturing Mahler’s vision of a symphony that reflects the world in all its complexity.
8. Shostakovich’s Fifth by Heart
Sat 16 (7pm, £15-£66) & Sun 17 August (11am, £10-£28)
A theatrical take on a politically-charged masterpiece, performed from memory
The Aurora Orchestra, under Nicholas Collon, performs Shostakovich’s mighty Fifth Symphony entirely from memory, joined by actors who animate the story behind the music. Marking the composer’s anniversary, this theatrical Prom uncovers the tension behind a masterpiece created under Stalin’s shadow, which walks a tightrope between subservience to the state and artistic rebellion.
9. Paraorchestra and the Breath
Fri 22 August, Bristol Beacon 6pm, £20-25
An adventurous, otherworldly musical fusion
The Paraorchestra teams up with the award-winning duo The Breath—guitarist Stuart McCallum and singer Ríoghnach Connolly—for an adventurous fusion of folk, psychedelia, and orchestral sounds, supported by composer Oliver Vibrans. Conducted by Charles Hazlewood, this collaboration weaves multi-instrumental pieces together with ethereal vocals into an otherworldly musical landscape.
10. Figaro from Glyndebourne
Wed 27 August 6.30pm; £26-£86
A stellar cast in Mozart’s best-loved opera
Voted the greatest opera of all time, Mozart’s great comedy of love, lust, power and mistaken identity is brought to the stage in a semi-staged concert from the Glyndebourne Festival. Louise Alder sings the long-suffering Countess, with Huw Montague Rendall as the Count, Tommaso Barea as Figaro and Johanna Wallroth as Susanna. Riccardo Minasi conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
11. Pekka Kuusisto and Katarina Barruk
Sun 31 August 7.30pm; £15-£66
A powerful concert about injustice, memory, and cultural resilience
Adventurous violinist Pekka Kuusisto leads the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra in a concert exploring injustice. Among the highlights is Shostakovich’s searing String Quartet No. 8, which reflects on war and oppression. Elsewhere, Ume Sámi singer-composer Katarina Barruk gives voice to a near-lost culture through her own songs, interspersed with music by J. S. Bach, Philip Glass, Hannah Kendall (UK premiere), Caroline Shaw and Tippett.
12. Shostakovich’s ‘Lady Macbeth’
Mon 1 September, 6.30pm; £15-£66
A rare chance to hear an opera condemned by the Soviet authorities
Amanda Majeski stars as Katerina, a defiant Lady Macbeth figure, in this English-language, semi-staged production of Shostakovich’s operatic tragedy about an “innocent murderess.” The cast also features tenor Nicky Spence (pictured) as her lover Sergey and Brindley Sherratt as the brutal patriarch Boris. John Storgårds conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Singers, and Chorus of English National Opera.
13. Angélique Kidjo: African Symphony
Sun 7 September, St George’s Hall, Bradford 3pm; £11-£31
A celebration of African heritage and legends in symphonic music
Angélique Kidjo, five-time-Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, actress and activist returns to the Proms for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Drawing on Kidjo’s Benin roots, her African Symphony (arranged by Derrick Hodge) celebrates African heritage and legends like Miriam Makeba, Fela Kuti, and Hugh Masekela. Chris Cameron conducts the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
14. Vienna Phil Plays Bruckner’s Ninth
Monday 8th September, 7.30pm; £26-£86
Austria’s finest orchestra performs powerful masterpieces from its homeland
The Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, performs music from two important Austrian composers: Anton Bruckner’s (pictured) unfinished Ninth Symphony, a work rich in spiritual depth that the composer thought “the most beautiful that I have written”; and the orchestral suite from Lulu, Alban Berg’s tragic and violent opera about a destructive femme fatale.
15. Last Night of the Proms 2025
Saturday 13th September, 7pm
The season’s grand finale, featuring a dazzling soprano and trumpeter
The end of season jamboree is back with with Elim Chan (pictured) conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, joined by soprano Louise Alder and trumpeter Alison Balsom. Highlights include premieres by Camille Pépin and Rachel Portman, Mussorgsky’s A Night on the Bare Mountain, Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto, Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, plus all the traditional anthems and singalongs.
Pics: Getty Images except Top pic BBC / Studio Lambert / Cody Burridge, 3. BBC / Studio Lambert, 6, 15. BBC, 10. Will Alder
