Joe GallopThe Royal Albert Hall (cap. 5,272) will begin hosting full-capacity events again from this summer, following its re-opening on 29 May.
Aside from staging three 1,000-capacity events in December, the venue has been closed to audiences since 17 March last year.
The venue will initially begin hosting a series of socially-distanced events for 1,000 people, 20% of the Hall’s capacity, followed by a full-capacity James Blunt concert on 6 July.
The Hall is scheduled to host its 150th-anniversary event on 19 July – delayed from 29 March – with a performance from James Bond and Sherlock composer David Arnold. This will be followed by the return of the BBC Proms from 30 July – 11 September, with further details to be announced on 27 May.
The socially-distanced events include a family concert, Albert’s Band: Back with a Bang, followed by the Messiah with the Royal Choral Society, A Country Night in Nashville, and the British Ballet Charity Gala hosted by Darcey Bussell.
Although it successfully broadcasted live-streamed shows by Driift to an audience of 1.5m, the Hall has not welcomed an audience since March 2020 and has refunded more than £7.5m worth of ticket sales. The Hall announced the live-streamed performances will continue alongside the physical events.
Royal Albert Hall chief executive Craig Hassall said, “This has been the toughest period in the Hall’s 150-year history – and not how we ever imagined marking this remarkable milestone. But we are so excited about getting back to doing what we do best, and can’t wait to welcome audiences to the Hall to help us celebrate this anniversary in style
The Royal Choral Society music director Richard Cooke said: “It was so disappointing to have to cancel our 144th annual Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall in 2020, and we thought we’d lost this year’s as well – having missed the usual Easter date – so we are indebted to our friends at the Hall for allowing this year’s performance to go ahead, albeit a little later than usual.”