Land of Hope and Glory
"Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar, written in 1901 and with lyrics by A. C. Benson added in 1902.
1 was introduced as an orchestral piece (a year before the words were written), conducted by Henry Wood who later recollected "little did I think then that the lovely broad melody of the trio would one day develop into our second national anthem".
The Last Night of the Proms was broadcast annually on television from 1953 onwards, and Promenaders began dressing up outrageously and waving flags and banners during the climax of the evening.
This break from tradition prompted outrage from some members of the public, the media and some politicians, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson who accused the BBC of "cringing embarrassment about our history".
Further reporting hypothesised that the decision was made in light of renewed prominence for the Black Lives Matter movement, after the murder of George Floyd earlier in the summer, supporters of which accused the songs of glorifying colonialism and slavery.
Although their anthem changed to "God Save the Queen" after of the Great Britain side in 2007, it is still tradition for the team to use "Land of Hope and Glory" as their walk-out theme.
"Land of Hope and Glory" was the England team's victory anthem at the Commonwealth Games until 2010, when the public rejected it in a poll in favour of "Jerusalem".
[10] However, there have been calls for this to be changed,[11][12] with a 2006 survey conducted by the BBC suggesting that 55% of the English public would rather have "Land of Hope and Glory" than "God Save the King" as their national anthem.
It is set in a small fishing village in Shikamachi, Ishikawa Prefecture, who depend on the local amateur orchestra as their favourite source of entertainment.
In the British television comedy The Goodies, a recurring joke involves Tim Brooke-Taylor's character playing a recording of "Land of Hope and Glory" every time he makes a patriotic, motivational speech.
In Kingsman: The Secret Service, Merlin activates the implanted chips' failsafe, killing the guards and conspirators as heads explode around the world, to the tune of "Land of Hope and Glory".
In the United States, Canada and the Philippines, the instrumental version of this song is traditionally associated with high school and college (university) graduation ceremonies.
