Night at the park brings thousands to hear proms

Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park, one of the most popular annual events in the district’s calendar, delivered a sensory feast for the groups of families and friends to savour with their picnics.

The end-of-summer concert, which attracted an estimated 12,000 people, featured performances from the City of Lichfield Concert Band and the British Police Symphony Orchestra and was compered by Danny Mizon.

The City of Lichfield Concert Band played a mixture of popular classical music, medleys, film scores and pop tunes as concert-goers arrived and settled themselves.

The British Police Symphony Orchestra then took to the stage conducted by Richard Jenkinson with featured performances by singers Claire Prewer and Anando Mukerjee.

Despite predictions of rain, it remained dry in Beacon Park for the programme which included the Neopolitan song Core n’grato, the Star Wars Suite and Nessun Dorma from Turandot.

The rousing finale saw everyone on their feet waving their flags to the anthems Rule Britannia, Jerusalem and Pomp & Circumstance (Land of Hope and Glory) and they were treated to a spectacular fireworks display.

Richard Jenkinson, who conducted The British Police Symphony Orchestra, said: “The audience was, as usual, incredibly warm and generous and I hope that they enjoyed the evening as much as we did.

“On a musical level it was a real delight to perform such a varied mix of eclectic pieces.”

Lichfield District Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, Councillor Andy Smith attended and said: “I am delighted Lichfield Proms in Beacon Park was again, such a success, and that so many people enjoyed it.

“I would like to thank the Parks and Leisure teams at the council for all their hard work in organising the event, the musicians who provided such fabulous entertainment and everyone who helped to clean up afterwards.”