The Proms 2010

All eyes return to the Royal Albert Hall for the 2010 Proms as the most popular season of classical music in England continues to go from strength to strength. A varied but accessible programme regularly draws huge audiences, concluding on the last night with seas of Union Jack-waving Brits belting out their national anthem. The aim, for the past 100 years, has been to mix the popular and familiar with the surprising and innovative, so if you go to a concert to hear some favourite piece, you may leave having discovered a whole new composer. Five hundred standing tickets for each concert are available on the door for just five pounds, so top international orchestras and soloists, programmes that mix the adventurous and the accessible, and a real sense of fun can all be had for half the price of a central London cinema ticket. There are also chamber music concerts in Cadogan Hall and outdoor events throughout the country. You should turn up early for the biggest stars - and queue overnight if you want to get into the Last Night.

This year's Proms gets off to an emphatic start on Friday 16th July with Mahler's massive choral Symphony No.8, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Jiri Belohlavek. Valery Gergiev conducts the World Orchestra for Peace performing Mahler's 4th and 5th symphonies in Prom 26 (Tuesday 5th August) while Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in a programme of Beethoven and more Mahler (the Austrian late-Romantic composer is approaching his centenary year) in Prom 65 (Friday 3rd September). Placido Domingo stars in Verdi's opera Simon Boccanegra (Sunday 18th July) while more quirky highlights include a Doctor Who-themed Prom (Saturday 24th July) and a Sondheim evening (Saturday 31st July). For more information go to the Royal Albert Hall website.