The BBC Proms 2017: How to still get tickets for sold out concerts

The Proms are back this week, with more than 90 concerts happening over eight weeks. Since it’s the world’s biggest classical music festival, there’s more going on than you can shake a conductor’s stick at - and, inevitably, many of the tickets have already been snapped up.

Concerts that sold out when booking first opened include the first night of the Proms this Friday (July 14), Daniel Barenboim conducting Sibelius and Elgar (Prom 2, July 15), a celebration of film composer John Williams (Prom 8, July 20), John WIlson conducting Holst’s The Planets (Prom 14, July 25) and a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie (Prom 27, August 4), amongst others.

But all is not lost. There are still ways to get tickets for sold out Proms - here’s our guide to getting your hands on them.

Promming

Go old school with a much-loved Proms tradition: Promming. This is an informal way to see a concert for a low price. It means turning up on the day and nabbing a ticket for a standing area, either in the Arena or the Gallery. There are 1,350 standing places for every concert (although capacity varies) and tickets start from just £6 each.

For evening and late-night Proms, you can book them online each day between 9am and 12pm - if you’re not British enough to queue. They also often given some of the best views - the arena puts you up close with the performers, and the gallery is a space where you can spread out for a Prom and chill.

Returned tickets

Keep your eye on the Royal Albert Hall website, where sneaky returns often pop up. The Proms team also say to keep an eye on their social media accounts for ticketing updates.

Or... watch them on telly

Katie Derham takes up the helm once again to present the BBC’s TV coverage of the Proms.

Every Saturday night on BBC 2 she will host Proms Extra, with highlights of the concerts and special guests.

There will also be regular broadcasts of many of the concerts on Fridays and Sundays on BBC Four, including lots that are sold out.

And listen to the radio

Make sure you’re tuned to Radio 3 - they are broadcasting every Prom live. They can now be heard with Radio 3 Concert Sound, a new high quality stream that will make you feel like you’re actually there. You can listen online too, from anywhere in the world, and download concerts to listen to whenever you like.

The Proms run from July 14 to September 9; bbc.co.uk/proms