Last Night of the Proms hijacked by EU flags on 10th Brexit anniversary as Union Jacks outnumbered

EU flags appeared to outnumber Union Jacks at The Last Night of the Proms as crowds succumbed to a pro-Brussels love-in.

After years of anti-Brexit demonstrations, attendees once again hoisted the banner of the bloc as the annual classical music festival drew to a close.

During performances of Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory and more at London's Royal Albert Hall, the Brussels banner was seen outnumbering that of the United Kingdom's.

Footage from the rousing patriotic climax to the evening showed a sea of Proms-goers waving the twelve-starred flag - though some managed to keep Britain's banner flying high.

Wide shots of the iconic venue showed the blue and yellow pennant draped over the balconies of the 19th-century building.

It follows years of demonstrations against Brexit by pro-European campaigners.

Last summer, activists declared the flags "drowned out the politics of division" and were "symbols of solidarity".

Despite 2016's landmark referendum, pro-EU campaigners claimed flaunting the flag was "Britain at its best".

This year, campaigners from Thank EU for the Music, which describes itself as a "pro-European group of musicians and music lovers campaigning peacefully for music without borders", were back in force handing out pro-Brussels memorabilia.

The group is believed to have had 5,000 flags in its arsenal to foist on 2026 Proms-goers this year alone.

In a statement ahead of the concert, it said attendees "will be invited to wave them during the second half in solidarity with musicians affected by post-Brexit touring barriers".

It called on Labour to secure easier EU touring for British artists, hand them better access to work permits, and ease restrictions on customs, transport, tax and social security administration.

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"The Government's own evidence shows that reducing these barriers would bring economic and cultural benefits to both the UK and the EU," the group claimed.

Thank EU for the Music has been behind EU flag giveaways at the proms every year for the last decade.

It also handed out some 50,000 flags in Liverpool for Eurovision in 2023, which was hosted in the UK after Ukraine won the prior year's contest during the opening months of Vladimir Putin's invasion.

In a fundraising drive ahead of the 2026 Proms, campaigners said the impact of their work had been picked up across Britain and the continent alike.

It managed to raise more than £1,500 to buy "wonderful" EU berets and vowed to press on "for the next 10 years and beyond".

"Our commitment is simple," activists said. "We will keep going every year until the UK is once again a full member of the EU."

Amid the pro-Brussels campaign, the Proms' BBC presenters have in the past blasted the nation's patriotic anthems as "incredibly problematic".

Katie Derham, the BBC Proms presenter and one-time Strictly contestant, said in 2024 that Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory "will delight and enrage large swathes of the population in equal measure".

She later admitted the rousing duo were "classical bangers".