Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: Last Night of the Proms goes Poppins
Victoria Peet
Marketing Officer, BBC London Performing Groups
This year sees 50 years since the iconic movie-musical Mary Poppins was released. 50 years of Feed the Birds, Chim Chim Cher-ee, A Spoonful of Sugar, Step in Time (to name just a few) and of course the brilliant tongue-twister Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The BBC Proms are celebrating this in true Last Night of the Proms style with a brand new sing-along medley, arranged by Anne Dudley, in the Royal Albert Hall and at Proms in the Park in London, Swansea, Belfast and Glasgow.
Everyone in the Hall and at the Parks can join together to sing the medley and create a really special moment across the country. But, this year the Proms have taken this one step further and are giving the opportunity for anyone to be involved in the Last Night celebrations by being part of their very first virtual choir.
A virtual choir? Yes, a choir made up of anyone and everyone who wants to be involved – and has the courage to film themselves singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Then, we’ll put as many of the videos as we can together and the finished film will be played out on the big screens in the Parks and online during the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday 13 September.
Not for the feint-hearted, it’s no easy feat as the song goes at quite a pace. Practice, practice, practice until you get it practically perfect – and to give you a helping hand we’ve enlisted BBC Singer Rebecca Lodge to give an online singing lesson. There’s also a backing track to sing along to (recorded by none other than the BBC Symphony Orchestra) and lots of hints and tips on how to get the best out of your video on the Proms website.
It’s such an exciting opportunity for any Mary Poppins fan, and you don’t have to be the best singer, just have the courage to sing loud. You can get together with friends and family, or you can be the only star, it’s totally up to you. You also don’t need fancy equipment, a smartphone or tablet works brilliantly.
We’ve had some fantastic videos sent through so far, and if you want some inspiration here’s one the Proms team made earlier
BBC Proms team sing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in front of BBC Broadcasting House
You’ve got until Sunday 31 August to send your videos in so get singing and have fun!
Victoria Peet is Marketing Officer, BBC London Performing Groups.
- Find out more about the Last Night celebrations on the BBC Proms website.
- Discover more about Mary Poppins author, PL Travers on the BBC Arts website.
