Dolly Parton tribute to feature at Last Night of the Proms
Dolly Parton tribute to feature at Last Night of the Proms
Tom JeffreysThu, September 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM UTC
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Dolly Parton died last month, aged 80, after a brief battle with cancer - Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
A Dolly Parton medley will feature at the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday in a tribute to the late Queen of Country.
Parton’s most celebrated hits will be performed in a segment named To Dolly, With Love.
The BBC Proms has made a tradition of using its grand finale to mark moments of national remembrance, performing Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings in 2021 for victims of the September 11 terror attacks, and Gustav Holst’s Jupiter for Diana, Princess of Wales – said to be her favourite – after her death in 1997.
The segment has been arranged by Fiona Bruce, with Sheridan Smith performing the 1980 song 9 to 5, Beverley Knight singing the 1972 hit I Will Always Love You and the country-pop duo Ward Thomas covering 1974’s Jolene.
Credit: @RoyalFamily/X
Led by presenters Katie Derham and Nick Mohammed, the tribute kicks off the second half of the show, on BBC One from 9pm, after the first part starts on BBC Two from 7.10pm.
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The concert will also be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, presented by Petroc Trelawny and Georgia Mann.
Sam Jackson, controller of Radio 3 and BBC Proms, said: “This year’s Last Night of the Proms promises to be a joyous celebration, bringing together world-class performers, much-loved repertoire and memorable musical moments.
“We very much look forward to the centenary of the BBC Proms next year, but for now, we can’t wait to celebrate the end of the 2026 season in style.”
Other Last Night of the Proms tributes have included one to Team GB after the 2012 Olympics, in which gold medallists appeared and sang Rule, Britannia! with the audience, and a performance of Vaughan Williams’s Sea Songs in 2008 as a final tribute 50 years after his death.
The finale was cancelled in 2022 after the death of Elizabeth II, just two days before it was scheduled to take place.
The 2026 show concludes an eight-week season of 86 concerts, which have not been exempt from this summer’s heatwave, with the organ needing more frequent tuning as a result of the record temperatures.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
