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Katie Derham live from the Royal Albert Hall

Katie Derham leads Proms Countdown into its big moment, counting down to the very first note of the BBC Proms 2026 and the new season begins.

The sound of summer pours from your radio in Proms Countdown 2026. From first light to the very first note of the BBC Proms, Radio 3 broadcasts live from the Royal Albert Hall. Tom McKinney, Georgia Mann, Mark Forrest and Katie Derham take you behind the scenes as excitement builds for the opening night — from unlocking the doors to the moment the first performers step on stage.

Proms Countdown is your access-all-areas pass, with exclusive interviews from Proms performers, backstage stories and live performance — a front-row seat to the sounds and stars of the world’s greatest classical music festival.

Katie's guests include conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, journalists Lyse Doucet and Steve Rosenberg and conductor of the First Night of the Proms Dalia Stasevska. And the Black Dyke Band returns to perform a fanfare to mark the start of the BBC Proms 2026.

28 days left to listen

2 hours, 30 minutes

Last on

Friday16:30
BBC Radio 3

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Mark Forrest live from the Royal Albert Hall

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Music Played

  • Hector Berlioz

    Un Bal (Symphonie Fantastique Op.14)

    Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Colin Davis.
    • Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique: LSO/Davis.
    • LSO Live.
    • 2.

  • Camille Saint‐Saëns

    Carnival of the Animals: VII. Aquarium

    Performer: Martha Argerich. Performer: Sir Antonio Pappano. Orchestra: Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome.
    • Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals & Symphony No. 3, Op. 78 "Organ Symphony".
    • Warner Classics.
    • 11.

  • Abel Selaocoe

    Tsohle Tsohle (Live)

    Performer: Abel Selaocoe. Performer: Bernhard Schimpelsberger. Conductor: Nicholas Collon. Orchestra: Aurora Orchestra.
    • Abel Selaocoe’s "Four Spirits" (Live).
    • Warner Classics.
    • 6.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43: I. Allegretto

    Conductor: Sakari Oramo. Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
    • Sibelius : Symphonies Nos 2 & 4.
    • Warner Classics International.
    • 1.

  • Evelyn Glennie

    A Little Prayer

    Performer: Black Dyke Band. Music Arranger: Robert Childs. Conductor: Nicholas Childs.
    • Virtuoso - Music for Euphonium and Brass Band.
    • Naxos.

  • Leonard Bernstein

    Mambo (West Side Story)

    Conductor: Marin Alsop. Orchestra: São Paulo Symphony Orchestra.
    • Bernstein: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Suite, Slava!, CBS Music & A Bernstein Birth.
    • Naxos.
    • 1.

  • Robert Schumann

    Piano Quartet in E flat, Op.47 (3rd mvt)

    Performer: Isabelle Faust. Performer: Antoine Tamestit. Performer: Jean‐Guihen Queyras. Performer: Alexander Melnikov.
    • Schumann: Piano Quartet - Piano Quintet.
    • harmonia mundi.
    • 3.

  • Levko Kolodub

    Solemn Overture

    Conductor: Dalia Stasevska. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra.
    • Ukrainian Mixtape.
    • Platoon.
    • 101.

  • Cassie Kinoshi

    Inside My Head Is...

    Performer: Cassie Kinoshi. Ensemble: Cassie Kinoshi + seed..
    • BalletBoyz: Bradley 4:18.
    • Cassie Kinoshi.

  • Edward Elgar

    Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.85 (4th mvt)

    Performer: Sheku Kanneh‐Mason. Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
    • DECCA.

  • Antonín Dvořák

    Symphony No.8 in G major (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: Los Angeles Philharmonic. Conductor: Gustavo Dudamel.
    • Dvořák: Symphonies Nos. 7-9.
    • DG.
    • 8.

  • Richard Strauss

    Festmusik der Stadt Wien

    Ensemble: Black Dyke Band. Conductor: Nicholas Childs.

  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Schafe können sicher weiden (Cantata No. 208 BWV.208)

    Performer: Lucas Jussen. Performer: Arthur Jussen.
    • Bach: His Works.
    • UME.
    • 74.

  • Claude Debussy

    Preludes, Book I: La fille au cheveux de lin

    Orchestrator: Colin Matthews. Orchestra: Hallé. Conductor: Mark Elder.
    • HALLE.

  • John Stanley

    Trumpet Voluntary

    Performer: Wynton Marsalis. Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Anthony Newman.
    • Sony Classical.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Symphony no.40 in G minor K.550 (1st mvt)

    Orchestra: Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Conductor: René Jacobs.
    • Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 39 & 40: Rene Jacobs.
    • Harmonia Mundi.
    • 5.

  • Clara Schumann

    Piano Trio in G minor Op.17 (4th mvt)

    Performer: Anne‐Sophie Mutter. Performer: Pablo Ferrández. Performer: Lambert Orkis.
    • Sony Masterworks.

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral": II. Molto vivace - Presto

    Conductor: Gianandrea Noseda. Orchestra: National Symphony Orchestra, Kennedy Center.
    • Beethoven: Symphony No. 9: II. Molto vivace - Presto.
    • National Symphony Orchestra.
    • 1.

  • Dmitry Shostakovich

    24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87: No. 2a, Prelude in A Minor

    Performer: Yuja Wang.
    • Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87: No. 2a, Prelude in A Minor.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 1.

Broadcast

  • Friday16:30
    BBC Radio 3