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Audience members attending the BBC’s Last Night at the Proms have enraged Brexiteers after they were seen on camera holding up EU flags.
Led by the Thank EU for the Music group, hundreds of people waved the famous blue and yellow-starred symbol as musicians played all kinds of classics on stage – including Rule, Britannia!.
The group explained: “Tens of thousands of music lovers have taken our free European flags into the Royal Albert Hall for each Last Night of the Proms in solidarity with musicians who feel (like countless others) the destructive impact of Britain’s recent isolation from Europe.”
The campaigners posted a letter they sent to the BBC’s Director General, Tim Davie, on Facebook too.
It read: “Our flags represent hope that the Last Night of the Proms musically celebrate ‘Britannia ruling the airwaves’ hopefully transforming the problematic post colonial anthems into something more, shall we say, enlightened and collaborative?”
The display infuriated Brexiteers, who called for the BBC to be defunded or who dubbed it a “disgraceful” display and demanded an inquiry to be conducted at the BBC.
Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor wrote: “[The] Disgraceful & misguided BBC messing up a British tradition; a political gesture which would make Sir Henry Wood turn in his grave. Utterly vulgar & wrong. Rule Britannia, not Rule EU!”
The Last Night of the Proms appears to be a seething mass of Remainers. Can’t wait for Rule Britannia 😬 🇬🇧 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/nFgnBkOgDO
— Isabel Oakeshott (@IsabelOakeshott) September 9, 2023
Ironic to see some of the audience at The Last Night of the Proms waving EU flags while singing Rule Britannia.
Rule Britannia represents freedom, sovereignty, and self-determination, all absent in the European Union.
Thank God for Brexit. https://t.co/unA0iyFrk2
— Nile Gardiner (@NileGardiner) September 9, 2023
The Sun also suggested PM Rishi Sunak was hitting back at “remoaners” by emphasising his support for Brexit when his spokesperson was asked about the incident on Monday.
However, it didn’t take long for those complaining about the flags to be shouted down on X, though (formerly known as Twitter).
Everyone involved in this story needs to grow up and fuck off https://t.co/QFWjcli7lv
— Tom Hunter (@OneLifeStand87) September 11, 2023
I’m not one for waving a flag but don’t mind whether people wave Union flags or EU flags at the Last of the
Proms. I do mind people thinking it’s the the BBC’s job to police it.— Richard Coles (@RevRichardColes) September 10, 2023
Hilarious how angry people are getting about EU flags at Last Night of the Proms. Nothing wrong with standing up for touring musicians, who have been screwed over by dire Brexit bureaucracy.pic.twitter.com/I9xyoLc5Zl
— Bella Wallersteiner 🇺🇦 (@BellaWallerstei) September 10, 2023
A BBC spokesperson also told The Telegraph: “Audiences choose to bring their own flags and the Royal Albert Hall specifies size limitations within guidelines for safety reasons.”
The display of love for the EU is likely to have been seen by many around the world too, as the programme attracted a large TV and online audience this year.
The opening event for the televised concert had its strongest overnight TV audience since 2009, with had a record breaking first weekend with 3.2 million on TV watching it.
Up until September 3, there have been 3.7 million requests for Proms content on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer along with close to double the figures seen by the same point in 2022.
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