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Music

Jingoism of Rule, Britannia! has long felt shameful. Is it finally time for BBC Proms to axe it?

When rising classical star cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason suggested the Proms should change their closer Rule, Britannia! he faced a torrent of racist abuse. Does that confirm the song's time has come?

A 1990s BBC Proms in the Park concert

A 1990s BBC Proms in the Park concert. Image: Simon Meaker / Alamy Stock Photo

I’m sat on a picnic rug, an oversized coat around my shoulders. There’s a sharpness to the air; the short English summer is drawing to a close and the evening is chilly. In my hand is a Union Jack flag. Sheltered within the bandstand, the orchestra prepares for the grand finale. As we reach the chorus, everyone around me raises their arms, creating a sea of blue, red and white.

It is 1994, at a Proms in the Park event, one of many local concerts emulating the iconic Royal Albert Hall Last Night of the Proms. There, internationally renowned musicians and singers close the performance – as tradition dictates – with a rendition of “Rule, Britannia!”, the piece by English composer Thomas Arne with text by Scottish poets James Thomson and David Mallet. Here, less accomplished – but equally enthusiastic – voices sing the same song: “Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves! Britons never, never, never will be slaves.”

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Our view of British history is widening. Families who made their significant fortunes from enslaved people are increasingly held to account. Philanthropy – previously cast as a modern-day indulgence – is no longer enough to exonerate their behaviour. The statue of Edward Colston, the merchant who gave generously to various charitable endeavours, was famously pushed into Bristol Harbour in support of Black Lives Matter. National institutions, such as the Natural History Museum, acknowledge that their collections are rooted in colonialism and that “Collectors and explorers used, or in some cases exploited, the knowledge, skills and labour of local communities, enslaved people and Indigenous Peoples to find, collect and understand specimens”.

Our understanding of the impact of imperialism is developing, as is our engagement with diversity and the language that surrounds it. In music curriculums, there are efforts to decolonise the repertoire. There’s even a biopic of the life of Joseph Bologne, the fascinating composer born to an enslaved African mother and a French plantation owner who went on to work in the upper echelons of Marie Antoinette’s court. Against this background, why on earth would the Proms continue to encourage the jingoism of “Rule, Britannia”?

The festival has come close to stopping its now controversial annual singalong. In 2020 the programme was due to include an instrumental version of “Rule, Britannia!” – attributed to pandemic restrictions. The Proms U-turned at the last minute, bowing to pressure from headlines such as ‘Land of Woke and Glory’. But this year’s event, due to be unveiled in the coming weeks, now faces renewed pressure after popular cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason said that he thinks the music should be replaced.

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Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Image: Ollie Ali

Speaking to Lauren Laverne on Desert Island Discs recently, Kanneh-Mason revealed that he did not stay to hear the piece when he performed at the Last Night of the Proms in 2023. “I think maybe some people don’t realise how uncomfortable a song like that can make a lot of people feel, even if it makes [the people singing it] feel good,” he said. “I think that’s somehow a big misunderstanding about it … There’s so much wonderful British music that could replace it.”

There were unpleasant consequences to Kanneh-Mason’s brave honesty. The 25-year-old cellist – who was the first black musician to win BBC Young Musician of the year in 2016 – received hateful comments online. Not just hateful, but deeply racist. If this is the behaviour associated with such a piece of music, then the Proms – and its imitator concerts – should have nothing more to do with it. Singing “Rule, Britannia!” as a 10-year-old seemed strange. Today, it feels shameful.

Listen to…

Beethoven Triple Concerto album cover

Three of Britain’s top musicians have joined forces for a special recording of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. The dazzling work is unusual in featuring three solo instruments, here played by cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, violinist Nicola Benedetti and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor – all are former BBC Young Musician finalists. The trio gathered in London in June last year, shortly after a live performance at the Royal Festival Hall and recorded the album (out 31 May) with the Philharmonia and their principal conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali.

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