The 2026 BBC Proms season will conclude at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, 12 September, with a Last Night of the Proms programme featuring a special tribute to Dolly Parton.
Titled To Dolly, With Love and arranged by Fiona Brice, the tribute features a medley of Parton's hits. The performance brings together Sheridan Smith singing "9 to 5," Beverley Knight performing "I Will Always Love You," and country-pop duo Ward Thomas delivering "Jolene."
BBC Symphony Orchestra Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo will lead the BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus alongside the BBC Singers. Pianist Yuja Wang will give her first Proms performance of Samuel Barber’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Piano Concerto, alongside Alexander Tsfasman’s Jazz Suite. Tenor Nicky Spence joins the bill to perform selections from Dvorák’s Rusalka and Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls, alongside traditional Last Night festivities.
The evening also features two world premieres of BBC commissions: Iris of Life by Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley and Dithyramb by Canadian composer Samy Moussa.
The 2026 festival spanned eight weeks, featuring 86 concerts across the UK attended by approximately 300,000 people. Digital engagement reached record levels, with interim figures showing 1.7 million accounts accessing Proms content on BBC Sounds and iPlayer between April and September, generating 6.8 million plays.
"Across eight weeks, audiences have embraced the Proms in record numbers on our broadcast platforms," said Sam Jackson, Controller of BBC Radio 3 and the BBC Proms. "We very much look forward to the centenary of the BBC Proms next year, but for now, we can't wait to celebrate the end of the 2026 season in style."
The Last Night will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds from 7:10pm. Television coverage will be hosted by Katie Derham and Nick Mohammed, airing in two parts: Part 1 on BBC Two and iPlayer at 7:10pm, followed by the Finale on BBC One and iPlayer from 9:00pm.
