Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Bradley Jolly

Last Night of the Proms hit by Brexit flag row as Leavers and Remainers clash

Even the Last Night of the Proms can't avoid the country's Brexit crisis, as different sides of the debate clashed at the event last night.

While Remainers waved EU flags to show their support for staying in the union, Leavers had their own pro-Brexit banner.

The two sides were involved in a scuffle during the middle of Jerusalem, with Remainers reportedly trying to pull down the 'Brexit Now' banner.

The incident was caught on camera, which also captured a man wearing a t-shirt for the far right For Britain party.

Last Night of the Proms was criticised after 'flag wars' broke out in the audience (BBC)
Some people were seen waving EU flags and blue berets (BBC)

Anti-Brexit campaign group the EU Flags Proms Team said it had collected 50,000 EU flags to hand out across the various Proms events.

Spokeswoman Kate Hobbs  said she hoped the flags would be a "timely reminder" to the audience that music is a "universal language which unites people".

"We were keen to demonstrate that it is possible to be patriotic at the same time as maintaining a European and internationalist identity," the EU Flags Proms Team added.

But perhaps inevitably the use of political flags during the event, albeit for the fourth year in a row, has divided opinion.

Anti-Brexit demonstrators pose with EU flags after staging 'Thank EU for the Music' (Wiktor Szymanowicz / Barcroft Media)

One Twitter user wrote: "The Proms is ruined now, because it isn't about the one thing it was for, the music! The people have made it into a political statement.

"It's made more news than the actual performance! How sad for the musicians that put hours of practice to be topped by flag wavers."

"This country is so split," another added. "I'm of the opinion the majority would sell out their own UK status in preference to become 'solely European'."

Prommers assemble outside the Royal Albert Hall in central London (Matthew Chattle / Barcroft Media)

The Proms is an eight week celebration of classic music held every year at the world famous venue, with the Last Night a patriotic celebration of popular classics.

Union Jack waving is part of the tradition but EU flags have appeared in large numbers since the 2016 referendum.

The BBC said it tried to avoid giving "undue prominence" to the flags and its "primary focus is on the musicians and their performances".

Speaking about the pro Brexit banner after the event outside the hall, one Leaver said: "We just wanted to make our point on behalf of 17.4million people, we queued up early and got in."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.