The BBC has announced that the inaugural BBC Proms Dubai four-day festival will take place from March 21-4 at the Dubai Opera in 2017. Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor will appear alongside conductor Edward Gardner and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and there will be two a cappella concerts by the BBC Singers with conductor James Burton, plus a late-night Prom by the Joseph Tawadros Quartet. 

There will be six concerts in all, including a Last Night of the Proms concert, which will feature the traditional repertoire heard at the finale of the BBC Proms in London every summer. 

Benjamin Grosvenor will play Britten's Piano Concerto in the first concert on March 21, a concert that also features Walton's First Symphony. And he will return on March 23 as soloist in Mozart's Piano Concerto No 20 (this concert also includes Elgar's Enigma Variations).

Six hundred tickets will be made available on the day of each concert for audience members who want to 'Prom' (that is, standing), which will be priced at 50 dirhams (£10) each.

David Pickard, Director, BBC Proms stated: 'I am delighted that the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers will be performing at Dubai Opera for the inaugural BBC Proms Dubai, giving audiences in the UAE an opportunity to sample a taste of the BBC Proms experience. Through this series of concerts and learning events we hope to give the audience an idea of what the Proms are all about, making classical music accessible through quality music-making, outreach work, affordable ticket prices and broadcasts.'