May 20, 2024 – "I am thrilled that this year’s opening on sale weekend has been record-breaking, demonstrating the UK’s passion for live music. It’s noteworthy that the 15 best-selling Proms reflect the breadth and variety of what the BBC Proms offers, from international orchestras and star soloists through to family concerts and genre-defying gems." — Sam Jackson, Controller, Radio 3 and BBC Proms

General booking for the BBC Proms 2024 opened at 9am on Saturday 18 May, with a record-breaking number of tickets sold. On Saturday alone, nearly 103,000 tickets were sold online, the highest number of Proms tickets sold online in a day, ever. Including telephone and in person sales, over 107,000 were sold on Saturday – an almost 36% increase on last year and up more than 500 tickets at the same point in 2019, pre-Pandemic. When combined with Sunday’s figures and the figures for season tickets, the Doctor Who and CBeebies Proms, the total number of tickets sold is almost 125,000.

The most in-demand Proms are the First Night of the Proms conducted by Elim Chan (19 July), Everybody Dance! The Sound of Disco (20 July), Sir Mark Elder conducts Mahler’s Fifth (21 July), Verdi’s Requiem (23 July), CBeebies Proms (27 July, two concerts), Yunchan Lim performs Beethoven, Bruckner and Tüür (29 July), Sam Smith (2 August), Anne-Sophie Mutter performs Brahms with the West–Eastern Divan (11 August), Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony (12 August), Britten’s War Requiem (17 August), Aurora Orchestra performs Beethoven’s Ninth (18 August), Holst’s The Planets (25 August), Doctor Who Proms (26 August, two concerts), Simon Rattle conducts Mahler’s Sixth (6 September) and Florence + The Machine: Symphony of Lungs (11 September).

Although seats for these 15 Proms are currently unavailable, up to 1,000 Promming tickets will be released for every single Prom, priced at £8 and available at 10.30am on the day of the concert, and returns are often available via the Royal Albert Hall Box Office. Tickets for the majority of the 2024 BBC Proms are still available.

David Pickard, Director, BBC Proms says: “I am delighted that the 2024 Proms, my last as Director, are proving so appealing. With many of our core classical concerts selling fast, it shows that the public's appetite for classical orchestral music is as strong as ever. To see such huge audiences for Mahler, Beethoven, Britten, Bruckner, Verdi and Holst reinforces the original vision of the festival - to bring the best of classical music to the widest possible audience.”

Sam Jackson, Controller, Radio 3 and BBC Proms says: “I am thrilled that this year’s opening on sale weekend has been record-breaking, demonstrating the UK’s passion for live music. It’s noteworthy that the 15 best-selling Proms reflect the breadth and variety of what the BBC Proms offers, from international orchestras and star soloists through to family concerts and genre-defying gems. While these figures are very encouraging, audiences should be aware that no Prom at the Royal Albert Hall is ever sold out until the day itself, because you can buy standing tickets for every single concert, on the day. And of course, all concerts will be broadcast on Radio 3.”

The 2024 BBC Proms season opens on Friday 19 July until 14 September and features 90 Proms with over 3,000 musicians. Seats start from £10 (plus booking fee) and there are still over 200,000 available for music lovers to enjoy the world’s greatest classical music festival in person at the Royal Albert Hall and venues around the UK.

As ever, BBC Radio 3 will enable the festival to reach millions of people by broadcasting every single Prom, and they will all be available on BBC Sounds. Other BBC Radio networks, including Radio 1 and Radio 2 will broadcast highlights. This year, 24 programmes will be broadcast on TV and BBC iPlayer, from the First Night of the Proms, presented by Clive Myrie, to the world-famous Last Night of the Proms, presented by Katie Derham. Further details about TV Proms will be revealed soon.