Over 110,000 tickets sold as booking opens for 2014 BBC Proms
19 May, 2014
Booking for the BBC Proms 2014 opened at 9am this morning (Saturday 17 May) with close to 109,000 tickets sold in the first 12 hours. In addition, over 1,600 Promming Season Tickets and Weekend Promming Passes, which for the first time went on sale a day early, were sold yesterday, bringing the total number of tickets sold to more than 110,000.
Over 96,000 tickets were sold online, while the remainder were purchased by music lovers who used telephone or postal booking, or went to the Royal Albert Hall in person. Within the first hour of booking more than 27,000 tickets were purchased online, over 10,000 more than in previous years.
Roger Wright, Director, BBC Proms and Controller, BBC Radio 3, said:
“The BBC Proms remains the world’s largest music festival and it is a thrill that the demand for tickets has been extremely high. However, it's important to remember that there are still tickets available for the vast majority of events and that you can always come and Prom on the day. With every Prom live on BBC Radio 3, and many broadcast on BBC television, there are lots of ways to enjoy the Proms in 2014."
The fastest selling Proms included Beethoven's Symphony No 9 and music by Cerha with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly (12 September), two Proms by the Berliner Philharmoniker with Sir Simon Rattle (5 & 6 September), the first ever War Horse Prom (3 August) and a Late Night Prom by the Pet Shop Boys (23 July). For those who were unable to buy tickets for these Proms, there are other ways to hear the concerts. Up to 1,400 Promming tickets are released on the day of each Prom, priced at just £5 for the ninth consecutive year, and returns are often available via the Royal Albert Hall box office. Tickets for the majority of the 2014 BBC Proms are still available and every Prom is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 with many also televised.
Jasper Hope, Chief Operating Officer, Royal Albert Hall said:
“With more international orchestras than ever before, Late Night Proms with Laura Mvula, Paloma Faith, Rufus Wainwright and the Pet Shop Boys, the commemoration of the First World War Centenary with Britten's powerful War Requiem and the National Theatre's War Horse Prom, not to mention concerts by Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Richard Strauss, we are very proud to be hosting the 120th season of the BBC Proms, the greatest classical music festival in the world. We are delighted with the success of first day ticket sales with over 55% more tickets purchased online in the first hour than in previous years and we look forward to a wonderful summer of exhilarating live performances on the world’s most famous stage.”
Full details of the season are available at: bbc.co.uk/proms
For further information, please contact:
Camilla Dervan, Communications Manager BBC Proms
camilla.dervan@bbc.co.uk / 020 7765 4714 / 07919 341 256