Proms brace for anti-Trump protests after announcing 'pro-American' programme for 2026

Peter Stevens
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 03:57:12 +0000

The Proms are bracing for anti-Trump protests after announcing a pro-American programme to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Despite being decided long before the Iran war, the BBC is pressing ahead with its 2026 musical lineup.

The pro-American catalogue also comes as the President is suing the broadcaster for $10billion in Florida over the Panorama editing scandal.

Proms director and BBC Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson said the concerts were planned two years ago, before the election even took place.

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He told RadioTimes: "What we didn't know then was the way in which world events - particularly those relating to the USA - would take an, at times, unprecedented course."

He added: "I believe strongly that the potency and power of classical music, and the stories of those who compose it, should be shared with a broad audience.

"What's more, we must not allow our current geopolitical climate to stifle culture, or to dissuade us from championing music of both the past and the present. Great art can't be cancelled."

But he has acknowledged the potential risk of protests, potentially from artists themselves.

He told The i Paper: "I respect people’s right to share their views."

He added: "We speak to all artists and make them aware that the Proms is a celebration of music and that is what we’re there to do. But we’re not in the position of censoring people."

The concerts will showcase works by US composers such as George Gershwin, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, with American conductors leading several shows.

Rather than one dedicated American performance, the series of concerts will have themed elements woven throughout.

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The work of Charleston-born composer Edmund Thornton Jenkins, one of the first people to introduce jazz and spirituals to classical music, will be performed by Californian soprano Angel Blue and the Chineke! Orchestra.

There will also be a celebration of Miles Davis' centenary featuring his influences and will feature American trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.

Mr Jackson said: “From our American Classics Prom with Marin Alsop, to our celebration of the revolutionary Miles Davis, to concerts with the LA Phil and the Met Orchestra of New York, this year’s BBC Proms season takes this significant anniversary as the prism through which to explore America’s profound impact on global culture."

Other artists to be celebrated by the proms will include Motown singer Marvin Gaye and British prog rock bands Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Jethro Tull.

Proms concerts have been the targets of protests in recent years, with pro-Palestine activists disrupting a show in 2025 and Just Stop Oil protesters wreaking havoc on the First Night of the Proms.

The President's lawsuit against the BBC after Panorama spliced together his speech on January 6 played a role in the resignation of director-general Tim Davie.

Mr Trump had his £10billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal thrown out on April 13 after US District Judge Darrin Gayles said it was "nowhere close" to showing actual malice against the President, the threshold for defamation in the US.

The President will be allowed to refile an amended suit, something his lawyers have said they plan to do.