BBC Proms returns to Bristol Beacon for third weekend residency this August

Bristol Beacon will host the BBC Proms for a third residency this August, with six concerts taking place across the weekend. Five performances will be held at Bristol Beacon, with one at St George’s Bristol. Performances by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Tenebrae will both be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, with the remaining concerts pre-recorded for future broadcasts. Tickets for all concerts start at £8 + booking fee, encouraging audiences from across the South West to experience the BBC Proms. 

Image: BBC Proms, credit Soul Media

The residency coincides with the iconic Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, creating a unique moment for the city as world-class music and one of the UK’s most recognisable events take place across the same weekend. 

Simon Wales, Chief Executive of Bristol Beacon, said: “Welcoming the BBC Proms to Bristol Beacon is a highlight of our year and we are very excited for this year’s programme. Creating the Bristol weekend is a wonderful collaborative process between the BBC Proms, the Bristol Beacon team and all our artistic partners, and this year’s programme is so diverse and musically eclectic. Bristol is increasingly recognised for its bold, ambitious and experimental music scene, and these Proms really encapsulate the city's creative spirit and vibrant community of musicians and audiences.” 

Sam Jackson, Controller, Radio 3 and BBC Proms, said: “We’re delighted to be returning to Bristol for our third residency as part of BBC Proms across the UK. Audiences in the West of England can expect a programme packed with musical gems performed by local and international artists, with every note broadcast on Radio 3. The Proms was founded on the belief that everyone should have access to the very best classical music, and our residencies this year in Bristol and in the North East of England, as well as our Prom in Mold, North Wales, will reach audiences on their own doorsteps.”

The RPS-Award winning Paraorchestra returns to Bristol Beacon to perform Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians - celebrating Reich’s 90th birthday year and 50 years since the piece was premiered – in a unique immersive performance directed by Charles Hazlewood and Faye Stoeser.    

Jonathan Harper, Chief Executive, Paraorchestra, says: "It's an honour and privilege for us to be back at BBC Proms, the world's greatest classical music festival, for the third year in a row. Each year we've premiered a new artistic work within the beauty of Bristol Beacon's main hall for audiences of the city, prior to showcasing around the globe. In August 2026 we pay homage to the seminal composer Steve Reich, in his 90th birthday year. Join us to experience Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, directed by Charles Hazlewood, in an immersive in-the-round format. This is a landmark piece of music that still resonates with modern day musicians and songwriters today, and our hope is that audiences connect and truly "feel" the syncopated beat of this piece with the excitement that Reich originally intended."

Bristol Beacon’s Orchestra in Residence, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, returns to Beacon Hall for a programme including Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major with lauded cellist Max Hornung. The concert also features Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Gubaidulina’s Fairy-Tale Poem and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, with conductor Adam Hickox making his BBC Proms debut.  

Dougie Scarfe, OBE, Chief Executive of BSO, said: “Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to return to its home in Bristol – the extraordinary Bristol Beacon - for this year’s BBC Proms season, as it shines a spotlight on the brilliant music-making in the South West.  We’ll return with conductor Adam Hickox and cellist Maximilian Hornung for a sparkling programme of music by Shostakovich, Gubaidulina, and Rachmaninov - we can’t wait to see you there.”

The special live edition of BBC Radio 3’s jazz show ’Round Midnight’ returns to Lantern Hall at Bristol Beacon, this year celebrating legendary saxophonist John Coltrane in his centenary year. In particular, it marks his 1965 album A Love Supreme which reflected his spiritual journey and resonated strongly with the American Civil Rights Movement. 

The National Open Youth Orchestra - the world’s first disabled-led national youth ensemble – makes its BBC Proms debut with an afternoon Relaxed Prom at Beacon Hall with guest musicians from BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Alice Farnham. The programme includes Michael Betteridge’s Soaring Through Sparks – the world’s first Clarion concerto – arranged by Julia Koelmans with soloist Alessandro Vazzana who plays the Clarion with head movement, and Charlotte Harding’s The Orchestra: A Young Person’s Guide, co-commissioned by the BBC. The Relaxed Proms series is designed to suit people who feel more comfortable attending concerts in an informal environment.  

Bea Hubble, NOYO Artistic Lead: "NOYO musicians are so excited to be part of the BBC Proms for the first time and to play a relaxed performance with members of BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the baton of brilliant conductor Alice Farnham. Our groundbreaking orchestra blends traditional classical instruments with instruments you don't often see in an orchestra, with an accordion and electric bass. We're also the first orchestra in the world to have two Clarion players - an accessible musical instrument that you can play with your hands or head movement. We hope audiences will come and see the new kind of orchestra we are creating." 

Tenebrae, one of the world’s leading choirs, performs the Proms premiere of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles under founding conductor Nigel Short at St George’s Bristol. The piece was commissioned by Tenebrae in 2005 and explores the most enduring route of Catholic pilgrimage – to Santiago de Compostela. 

Soprano Anu Komsi and Sakari Oramo – better known as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, but is a violinist here – celebrate György Kurtág’s 100^th-birthday year with a recital in Bristol Beacon’s Lantern Hall. They perform Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments, a collection of musical aphorisms that defy interpretation. 

This year, BBC Proms Bristol coincides with the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, offering a timely celebration of the South West as a cultural powerhouse, pairing world-class music with one of the region’s most iconic events. To celebrate the two events coinciding, music from the BBC Proms Bristol programme will form part of the Fiesta experience, with recordings accompanying the opening ceremony and morning ascents in an unmissable cultural moment for the city. 

Tickets for the BBC Proms concerts at Bristol Beacon and St George’s Bristol will be available from 21 April. For more information and to book tickets, please visit https://bristolbeacon.org/whats-on/bbc-proms-2026/ . £8+booking fee for every concert will be available from 10am two days before each Prom both online and in person at Bristol Beacon’s box office.