Alan Menken Prom announced by BBC for 2026 line-up

The BBC has announced details of the 2026 season of the BBC Proms, which will run for eight weeks and comprise 86 concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and venues across the UK.

The season will feature leading orchestras, conductors and soloists from Britain and around the world, alongside 20 premieres, including 17 BBC commissions.

Among the major highlights is a family-focused concert, Enchanted: Alan Menken’s Music for Disney, will take place on 31 August. The BBC Philharmonic will perform music from Menken’s film scores, joined by special guests and performers from the National Youth Music Theatre.

Family programming will include Horrible Science: The Big Bang Proms Experiment on 25 July. Following the success of the 2023 Horrible Histories Prom, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and conductor Karen Ní Bhroin will join characters inspired by Albert Einstein and Marie Curie for a science-themed orchestral event featuring music by Gustav Holst and John Williams.

There will also be a semi-staged performance of Weber’s Oberon on 6 August, marking the opera’s 200th anniversary year. Sir Mark Elder will conduct the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, with Nicky Spence as Oberon and Jennifer Davis as Reiza.

The Proms will also mark 50 years since the death of Benjamin Britten with performances spanning his early works and larger-scale compositions.

A season-long focus on American music will mark 250 years since the signing of the US Declaration of Independence. The programme includes the Proms debut of the Met Orchestra and the return of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the first time in almost 25 years.

The programme includes tributes to several major musical anniversaries, including centenaries for John Coltrane, Morton Feldman, Edmund Thornton Jenkins, Betsy Jolas, György Kurtág and Steve Reich, as well as a concert dedicated to Miles Davis.

Cross-genre events will include a 40th anniversary celebration of Paul Simon’s Graceland with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a Prom exploring progressive rock, a concert featuring Turkish psych-folk group Altın Gün with conductor Jules Buckley, a tribute to Marvin Gaye and a performance by singer-songwriter Nadine Shah.

Outside London, the Proms will return to the North East of England and Bristol, while also making its debut in Mold, North Wales with a performance by Sinfonia Cymru inspired by Radio 3’s Words and Music.

All Proms concerts will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds, while 24 programmes will be shown on BBC television and iPlayer. Seated tickets will start from £12.20, including fees, with standing Promming tickets remaining at £8.

Announcing the season, Sam Jackson, Controller of Radio 3 and the BBC Proms, said: “With 86 Proms across eight weeks, I’m delighted to be announcing a 2026 season that brings together the world’s great orchestras, the finest British talent and an extraordinary breadth of music making.

“From the long awaited return of the LA Philharmonic to the Proms debut of the Met Orchestra, and world-class pianists including Martha Argerich and Yuja Wang, this summer we celebrate classical music at its most vibrant. Every Prom will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds, with 24 programmes on BBC TV and iPlayer, ensuring audiences everywhere can share in the experience. And with Promming tickets remaining at just £8, we look forward to welcoming both first timers and long time Prommers to the Royal Albert Hall and to venues across the UK.”