Mark Forrest live from the Royal Albert Hall

The sound of summer pours from your radio in Proms Countdown 2026. From first light to the very first note of the BBC Proms, Radio 3 broadcasts live from the Royal Albert Hall. Tom McKinney, Georgia Mann, Mark Forrest and Katie Derham take you behind the scenes as excitement builds for the opening night — from unlocking the doors to the moment the performers step on stage.

Proms Countdown is your access-all-areas pass, with exclusive interviews from Proms performers, backstage stories and live performance — a front-row seat to the sounds and stars of the world’s greatest classical music festival.

Around 1 o’clock, as First Night rehearsals pause for lunch, the Gallery of the Royal Albert Hall becomes our stage. Violinist Alena Baeva joins Mark Forrest and performs live, exclusively for Proms Countdown. She returns to the Proms later in July with Korngold’s Violin Concerto. And there's more live music from Chineke! musicians, who'll be playing Dvorak's 'American' String Quartet and looking forward to playing his 8th Symphony later in the season. Plus composer Mark-Anthony Turnage drops by to tell Mark about the UK premiere of his Festen Suite, with music drawn from his acclaimed opera.