Editing Land of Hope and Glory (section)

===BBC Proms===
[[The Proms]] began in 1895; in 1901 Elgar's newly composed [[Pomp and Circumstance Marches|'Pomp and Circumstance' March No. 1]] was introduced as an orchestral piece (a year before the words were written), conducted by [[Henry Wood]] who later recollected "little did I think then that the lovely broad melody of the trio would one day develop into our second national anthem". It was played as "Land of Hope and Glory" in the last concert of the 1905 proms, and at the first and last concerts of the 1909 Proms, which also featured Wood's [[Fantasia on British Sea Songs]]. The two pieces were played one after another at the closing concerts in 1916, 1917 and 1918. From 1927, the BBC began supporting the Proms, with radio broadcasts bringing the music to an increasingly wide audience.

"Land of Hope and Glory" featured in the final concerts for 1928, 1929, 1936 and 1939. By then, audience participation in the second half of the programme had become a ritual, and from 1947 a boisterous 'tradition' was created by the conductor [[Malcolm Sargent]], making "Land of Hope and Glory" part of a standard programme for the event. The Last Night of the Proms was broadcast annually on television from 1953 onwards, and Promenaders began dressing up outrageously and waving flags and banners during the climax of the evening. In some years, "Land of Hope and Glory" and the other favourites were left out of the programme but reinstated after press and public outrage. In an exception, for the 2001 Last Night concert following the [[September 11 attacks]], the conductor [[Leonard Slatkin]] substituted a more serious programme, featuring [[Samuel Barber]]'s "Adagio for Strings", but despite the success of this occasion, the now traditional pieces returned the following year.<ref name="Cannadine 2008 pp. 315–349">{{cite journal | last=Cannadine | first=David | title=The 'Last Night of the Proms' in historical perspective | journal=Historical Research | publisher=Wiley-Blackwell | volume=81 | issue=212 | year=2008 | issn=0950-3471 | doi=10.1111/j.1468-2281.2008.00466.x | pages=315–349| doi-access= }}</ref>

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] in 2020, the BBC announced a decision not to feature "Land of Hope and Glory" as well as "[[Rule, Britannia!]]" in the Last Night of the Proms running order. This break from tradition prompted outrage from some members of the public, the media and some politicians, including Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]] who accused the BBC of "cringing embarrassment about our history". Further reporting hypothesised that the decision was made in light of renewed prominence for the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement, after the [[murder of George Floyd]] earlier in the summer, supporters of which accused the songs of glorifying colonialism and slavery.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Anderson|first=Claire|date=2020-08-25|title=Boris Johnson erupts at 'cringing embarrassment' over UK history in brutal BBC Proms rant|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1327197/boris-johnson-news-bbc-proms-Rule-Britannia-ban-row-Land-of-Hope-Glory-latest-video|access-date=2020-09-07|website=Daily Express|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Opinion: Mark Smith: Rule Britannia is racist rubbish but so is Flower of Scotland |last=Smith |first=Mark |work=The Herald|location=Glasgow |date=27 August 2020 |access-date=2 September 2021 |url= https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18678082.opinion-mark-smith-rule-britannia-racist-rubbish-flower-scotland/ }}</ref> The BBC later reversed the decision, claiming the original move was due to the coronavirus social-distancing measures, and that they would now be sung.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-09-02|title=BBC reverses Proms decision on Rule, Britannia!|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53998584|access-date=2020-09-07}}</ref> Ultimately, both songs were featured albeit with a reduced-capacity choir and orchestra.<ref>{{cite web|title=Last Night of the Proms 2020 review|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/last-night-proms-2020-review-royal-albert-hallwhat-nation-needs/|first=Ivan|last= Hewett|date=2020-09-12|website=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref>