BBC Proms 2023: Self Esteem, Horrible Histories and BBC Singers on line-up

Pop star Self Esteem will give a one-off concert with the Royal Northern Sinfonia for this year's BBC Proms.

The performance will take place as part of a weekend-long mini-festival at the Sage Gateshead, as an offshoot of the main Proms programme in London.

At the Royal Albert Hall, both the first and last night concerts will be conducted by women for the first time.

And the BBC Singers will appear at five events, following their reprieve after being threatened with closure.

The UK's only full-time professional chamber choir faced closure as a result of BBC budget cuts earlier this year.

However, the 20-member group were given hope last month after "a number of organisations" came forward to offer alternative funding.

None of their concerts are listed in the official Proms guide, which went to press before the lifeline was offered.

"They always have an important role to play in the season, and I think this year is probably no different from any other," Proms director David Pickard said.

The season will also include the team behind comedy series Horrible Histories, who will premiere a "high decibel dive" into the world of opera aimed at younger audiences.

Last year, the Proms' traditional Last Night celebration was cancelled because of the death of the Queen. The concert will be partly restaged this year, with soloists Lise Davidson and Sheku Kanneh-Mason invited back.

US conductor Marin Alsop will oversee the perfomance, while Finland's Dalia Stasevska will helm the opening night on 14 July.

Having female conductors to bookend the festival for the first time was described by Pickard as "moving in the right direction".

Discussing gender equality, he added: "This year, two-thirds of our concert commissions are by women, while a third of our concerts include a piece by a woman in them. This is hugely, hugely advanced on the figures we would have given you 10 years ago.

"Is it enough? No, not yet I don't think, but, the motivation to change these things is enormous."

Twelve of this year's 83 Proms will take place outside London, with six concerts in Gateshead and others in Great Yarmouth, Londonderry, Aberystwyth, Dewsbury, Truro and Perth.

Self Esteem, who has received Mercury Prize and Brit Award nominations for her forthright, feminist pop anthems, will play in Gateshead on 21 July, launching a weekend of music that will also includes work by Mozart and Brahms, and a CBeebies concert that will lead audiences on an "underwater adventure".

Ahead of the launch, it had been reported that several prestigious musicians, including Sir Simon Rattle, were considering a boycott of the Proms over proposals to cut salaried posts in the BBC's English Orchestras by around 20%.

However, Pickard confirmed "nobody pulled out", adding: "I hope that this Proms season doesn't seem in any way lacking, despite the fact that we're trying to save money wherever we can."

Sir Simon will perform twice with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducting Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri on 22 August, and Mahler's 9th Symphony on 27 August.

The rest of the programme has a strong focus on core repertoire - a move potentially designed to counter criticism of the BBC's plans to cut orchestral posts, and the underlying accusation that the corporation undervalues classical music.

Highlights of the season include:

Every Prom at the Royal Albert Hall will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and, for the first time, will also be available on BBC Sounds for 12 months. Highlights and full concerts will also be shown on BBC TV and iPlayer over 24 separate broadcasts.

Tickets will be available from 13 May, with prices starting at £8 including booking fee.