When is the 2023 First Night of the Proms?
This year’s First Night of the Proms will take place on Friday July 14 2023 at The Royal Albert Hall. The concert is scheduled to begin at 7.00pm with accompanying coverage on BBC Two and Radio 3.
Radio 3 will also be broadcasting from the Royal Albert Hall throughout the day.
Who is conducting the 2023 First Night of the Proms?
In a reversal of last year’s schedule, in which she conducted the Last Night of the Proms, Dalia Stasevska is set to conduct this year’s First Night. Dalia is the Chief conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She is also the 2023 BBC Music Magazine Personality of the Year!
What is the programme for the 2023 First Night of the Proms?
The First Night will include a new piece of work by Ukrainian composer Bohdana Frolyak, along with Sibelius’s tone poem Finlandia and his melodramatic piece Snöfrid, inspired by a poem by Viktor Rydberg.
Actor Lesley Manville CBE will make her BBC Proms debut narrating Sibelius’s Snöfrid, a supernatural melodrama for narrator, choir and orchestra in a new translation by Edward Kemp.
The programme
Sibelius Finlandia
Bohdana Frolyak New work
Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor
Sibelius Snöfrid
Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Who will be performing at the First Night of the Proms?
Paul Lewis piano
Lesley Manville CBE narrator
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska conductor
How can I watch the 2023 First Night of the Proms?
The First Night of the Proms will be broadcast live to watch on BBC Two and to listen to on BBC Radio 3.
From the moment the Royal Albert Hall doors open, BBC Radio 3 will take listeners behind the scenes as they broadcast live from the Hall throughout the day. The Proms Countdown begins at 6.30am, as Petroc Trelawny explores the opening week of the 2023 season, followed by programmes with Georgia Mann, Linton Stephens, Penny Gore, Elizabeth Alker and Sean Rafferty, before Georgia and Petroc co-host the live concert broadcast of the First Night from 7pm.
In addition, a special mini-series of short Proms programmes, hosted by Tom Service, will be broadcast on the day and made available on BBC Sounds.
The festivities for the First Night of the Proms are also celebrated on TV. From 7pm on BBC Two presenter Clive Myrie will be joined by guests Anna Lapwood and Sandi Toksvig.
To attend the Proms in person, tickets will be available from May 13. Here's more information on how to get tickets to the 2023 BBC Proms.
Will the First Night of the Proms be available on BBC iPlayer?
Yes, the First Night of the Proms will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer until 10 October.
What are the best First Night of the Proms from history? We pick out some of our favourites.
Why are the Proms called the Proms? We explain the history behind the term and how the BBC Proms came to be.