'Are the BBC trying to erase history?' - Telegraph readers on Rule, Britannia!
Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory will not be sung on the Last Night of the Proms this year, the BBC has announced. The decision was made in spite of criticism from the Government after the Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, warned the BBC not to “erase history” in a row over dropping the songs completely due to colonialism.
The broadcaster has instead opted just to play orchestral versions of the traditional anthems, with no soloist singing the lyrics and of course (due to coronavirus restrictions), no one in the crowd singing along.
This news has come under fire from Telegraph readers, who have had plenty to say about the decision. Read on for some of the best comments we have received and tell us what you think in the comments section at the bottom of this article.
'Are the BBC trying to erase history?'
@Anthony Lawrence:
“It takes my breath away. How crass and insensitive can the BBC get?
"I remember it every year growing up in the 60s, the Last Night of the Proms was a symbol of pride. Are the BBC trying to erase history? The answer of course is yes. Well we should erase the BBC as a matter of urgency.”
'The BBC needs to be defunded'
@Jaded Citizen:
“The BBC needs to be defunded now. No more taxpayers' money should go on this appalling organisation. If Boris and his Government sit back and in effect allow the BBC to run the country then they're a disgrace too.
"The BBC have thrown down the gauntlet and the Government should respond by removing all funding immediately and tell them to go fund themselves.”
'Have some respect for the people whose licence fee pays for the Proms'
@Kate Wills:
“In my younger days I attended many proms, queuing outside the Albert Hall, chatting to other promenaders and making friends in the queue.
"The Last Night is the culmination of eight weeks of Proms, and the second half of the Last Night has always been a farewell party where the audience is as much a part of the concert as the performers. I have attended several. It is a lot of fun, especially when the orchestra tries to outpace the crowd, and proves that classical music-making can let its hair down.
“So, the BBC now thinks it can outlaw traditional and patriotic songs. Perhaps the BBC should read the words of one of those songs, the hymn Jerusalem, which is all about making England a better place.
"The BBC should have some respect for the country and the very people whose licence fee pays for the Proms and your wages.”
'The line has nothing to do with slavery'
@Paul Yarrow:
“Well if they wanted to lose their funding then this is just the way to go about it. The line 'Britons never, never, never shall be slaves' has nothing to do with slavery. It is a poetic way of saying that Britain will never be subjugated by anyone.”
'We are all tired of this'
@Bicks Biederbecke:
“The people who work at the BBC are trying to impose their world view and they demand that we pay in order that they can keep the gravy train going. They have a charter which they now totally ignore. We are all tired of this.
“The Government should have the final word acting under the will of the people. Instead we are being governed by a multitude of unelected bodies, companies, quangos, financial institutions and private individuals. Telling us what to do and how to live and then it turns out they do nothing of the sort themselves. Enough is enough.”
'Where does this stop?'
@Alan Ro:
“Our Queen and the monarchy are the most obvious symbols of our past, both the good and the bad. Does this mean when we sing the national anthem we are all racists? Does it mean the BBC will soon want to ban the singing of our national anthem? Where does this stop?”
'The songs that bind us together should not be discarded'
@John James:
"Probably one of my happier memories of the Proms is watching the Last Night with the family in 2016, in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. After division for several months, resulting in us skirting around the subject of the EU, the unifying effect of Rule Britannia was nothing short of fantastic.
"These songs that bind us together should not be discarded as refuse just because someone gets offended due to their own misunderstandings of history or the song's origin.
"Land of Hope and Glory, Jerusalem, Rule, Britannia!, God Save the Queen should be treasured and defended to the last, especially by so-called national institutions like the BBC. Shame on them."
'If it wasn’t for the BBC there would not be eight weeks of Proms'
@Ian Mackintosh:
"One point in all the BBC bashing is that if it wasn't for the BBC then there would not be eight weeks of Proms, the last night of which is the least interesting for most music fans."
'This may be the straw that broke the camel's back'
@IAN BIO:
"Sadly, when the license fee is abolished, the BBC will no longer be able to afford to pay for the Proms. Actually, not sadly at all. The Proms are sufficiently popular to stand on their own feet and be independent. They will benefit from that.
"This may be the straw that broke the camel's back. At last the Government will have the confidence to cut the BBC off from the public trough. It cannot come soon enough."
'It is a perfectly harmless evening'
@Paul Murray:
"I love the Proms, I go to several concerts every year but have no interest in the last night – although this year I might listen to 'Morgen!' which is a beautiful song. But it is a perfectly harmless evening that is enjoyed by many people and it must surely require an active effort to actually be offended by it.
"The risk is that the whole festival is put in jeopardy by kowtowing to a knee-jerk liberal cringe at anything that smacks of 'patriotism'."
'I would be glad if the numbers in question are dropped'
@Peter Nockolds
"I voted for Brexit, but as a frequent Prommer I would be glad if the numbers in question are dropped. The Last Night of the Proms doesn't have much to do with the rest of the Proms and seems to draw rather a different audience. It will live on in countless 'Last Night of the Proms events' up and down the country."
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