How to listen to the 2026 BBC Proms on ABC Classic

Posted Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 6:00amFri 4 Sep 2026 at 6:00amFri 4 Sep 2026 at 6:00am

The BBC Proms returns to ABC Classic this September, bringing the world’s largest and longest-running classical music festival to Australian audiences.

Hear more than 30 concerts across the month-long festival, from orchestral favourites and unforgettable film music, to Baroque gems, brass band highlights and the celebrated First and Last Nights of the Proms.

This year’s season also features performances by Australia’s own Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and music by acclaimed Australian composer Brett Dean.

Jump to the guide to listening

When can I listen to the 2026 BBC Proms in Australia?

The 2026 BBC Proms will be broadcast on ABC Classic and the ABC listen app from 4 to 20 September.

Find detailed broadcast times in our listening guide, and see details about concerts coming up on the ABC Classic website

How do I stream the BBC Proms in Australia?

You can stream concerts after broadcast on the ABC Classic website and ABC listen app. Find detailed broadcast times in our Guide to Listening and concerts available for streaming on the ABC Classic website.

What BBC Proms concerts can I listen to in Australia?

The broadcast includes the First Night of the Proms conducted by Dalia Stasevska, and the iconic Last Night of the Proms, featuring the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and the BBC Singers, joined by acclaimed pianist Yuja Wang and tenor Nicky Spence.

Other highlights include Gustavo Dudamel leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic; a special performance featuring acclaimed Dutch piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen alongside the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs; and Alan Menken’s Music for Disney with the BBC Philharmonic and National Youth Music Theatre.

The Proms also celebrates one of the world’s most influential living composers in Steve Reich at 90, performed by The Gesualdo Six and the Colin Currie Group.

Across the festival, audiences can also enjoy performances by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, star cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, and music by Australian composer Brett Dean.

What is the history of the BBC Proms?

The Proms is one of the world’s longest-running classical music festivals.

Founded in 1895, the festival was the brainchild of impresario Robert Newman and conductor Sir Henry Wood. Its iconic home is the Royal Albert Hall in central London.

The festival takes its name from the tradition of selling affordable tickets to “Prommers”, or promenaders, who queue up each day for standing-room places.

Today, the month-long festival is often compared to “the Olympics of the classical music world”, bringing together leading orchestras, conductors and soloists from around the globe, while helping launch the international careers of many artists, including Australian musicians.

Guide to Listening: The 2026 BBC Proms on ABC Classic

Friday 4 September

8pm First Night of the Proms: BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with the BBC Singers, conducted by Dalia Stasevska

Saturday 5 September

1pm Prom 5: Cellist Abel Selaocoe with the BBC Philharmonic and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

6pm Prom 50: Bond & Beyond with the BBC Concert Singers and Orchestra

9pm Prom 27: Weber’s Oberon with Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Monteverdi Choir, conducted by Sir Mark Elder

Sunday 6 September

1pm Prom 47: Britten, Mozart, Musgrave and Elgar with Academy of St Martin in the Fields

3pm: Prom 7: Late Night Baroque with Jupiter Ensemble and lutanist Thomas Dunford

Monday 7 September

1pm Prom 4: Rafael Aguirre plays Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Spanish National Orchestra

8pm Prom 16: Sibelius’s Second Symphony with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo

Tuesday 8 September

1pm Prom 6: Sueye Park plays Sibelius’s Violin Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic alongside Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra

8pm Prom 14: Pianist brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen, as well as Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus with the City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus and Orchestra

Wednesday 9 September

1pm Prom 10: John Wilson conducts Respighi’s Roman Trilogy with the Sinfonia of London

7pm Prom 3: Black Dyke Band at the Movies

8pm Prom 36: Yeol Eum Son plays Gershwin’s Piano Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Gaffigan

Thursday 10 September

1pm Prom 23: Kirill Gerstein performs Rachmaninov’s Paganini Variations with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra

8pm Prom 33: Beethoven and Adès with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel

Friday 11 September

1pm Prom 24: Alina Ibragimova performs the Mendelssohn Violin Concert in E minor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Elena Schwarz

8pm Prom 35: Beethoven and Ortiz with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel

9pm Prom 17: Elgar’s First Symphony with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers, conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth, alongside music by Brett Dean and Judith Weir

Saturday 12 September

1pm Prom 51: The Met Orchestra plays Strauss, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin with soprano Elza van der Heever

6pm Prom 57: Enchanted — Alan Menken’s Music for Disney with the BBC Philharmonic and National Youth Music Theatre, conducted by Sarah Hicks

9pm Prom 43: Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos with Glyndebourne Festival Opera and London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Robin Ticciati

Sunday 13 September

1pm Prom 46: Chineke! Orchestra with Angel Blue, performing Thornton Jenkins, Barber and Dvořák, conducted by Jonathon Heyward

3pm Prom 31: Mozart and Haydn with the Orchestra and Choir of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted by Peter Whelan

Monday 14 September

1pm Prom 52: The Met Orchestra plays Mahler and Saariaho, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin

8pm Prom 40: Pablo Ferrández plays Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vasily Petrenko

Tuesday 15 September

1pm Prom 49: American Classics with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop

8pm Prom 55: Patricia Kopatchinskaja plays Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto in D with the Oslo Philharmonic, conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla

Wednesday 16 September

1pm Prom 48: Gautier Capuçon plays Dvořák with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alain Altinoglu

Thursday 17 September

1pm Prom 59: Elgar and Tchaikovsky with the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Kirill Petrenko

8pm Prom 60: Steve Reich at 90 with The Gesualdo Six and Colin Currie Group

Friday 18 September

1pm Prom 61: Augustin Hadelich plays Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Kirill Petrenko

8pm Prom 66: Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, with Isabelle Faust as soloist in Schumann’s Violin Concerto

9pm Prom 20: Mahler’s First by Heart with the Aurora Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Collon

Saturday 19 September

1pm Prom 65: Dvořák’s New World Symphony with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo, as well as Jess Gillam, Ben Goldscheider and Sheku Kanneh-Mason as soloists in Gwilym Simcock’s Triple Concerto

9pm Prom 56: Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust with Maîtrise and Choeur de Radio France and Les Siècles, conducted by Jakob Lehmann

Sunday 20 September

1pm Last Night of the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and BBC Singers, featuring pianist Yuja Wang and tenor Nicky Spence, conducted by Sakari Oramo.

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