The mayor of Andover has hit out at the after the BBC announced that Land Of Hope And Glory and Rule Britannia! will be performed at the Last Night Of The Proms without singing.

Orchestral versions, without vocals, will be performed at the famous concert on September 12.

But the local mayor, Richard Rowles, disagrees with the decision.

"As someone who has organised several local Last Night Of The Proms charity events in the past, Seriously, this is getting ridiculous now," he told the Advertiser.

"The irony is Rule Britannia was written by a Scotsman for a play about Alfred the Great who ruled Wessex over 1,000 years ago.

"The song depicts the scene where Alfred creates a standing navy not seen in any part of what was to be the England, then Great Britain.

"The standing navy was a revolution to stop the Vikings raping and pillaging at will by sailing up our rivers from the sea and or channel.

"Now seriously, what on earth has that got to do with Black Lives Matter or anything else?

The national anthem will be sung at the event, which will air on BBC Radio 3 and on BBC One and feature soprano Golda Schultz and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

There will be no live audience to sing along because of coronavirus restrictions.

The BBC said: “The Proms will reinvent the Last Night in this extraordinary year so that it respects the traditions and spirit of the event whilst adapting to very different circumstances at this moment in time.

“With much reduced musical forces and no live audience, the Proms will curate a concert that includes familiar, patriotic elements such as Jerusalem and the national anthem, and bring in new moments capturing the mood of this unique time, including You’ll Never Walk Alone, presenting a poignant and inclusive event for 2020.”

Traditional anthems will be sung at next year’s Last Night Of The Proms, the BBC has confirmed.

The broadcaster confirmed the move after Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an intervention on the issue.

But for this year's event, Mr Rowles is firmly against any changes.

"In my personal opinion, anyone that wants to get rid of the song from the Proms Programme on the basis of Black Lives Matter is either a reactionary history revisionist or a total moron."