Climate Activists Interrupt Opening Night of the BBC Proms

Just Stop Oil, BBC Proms — Video capture image from Just Stop Oil

Protestors from the Just Stop Oil organization have made their way from Van Gogh’s Sunflowers to the BBC Proms’ opening night.

What’s going on?: Activists stormed the Royal Albert Hall stage this week in London, holding a banner to draw attention to the climate crisis. The same organization was responsible for throwing a can of soup at Van Gogh’s famous Sunflowers painting in 2022. Last month, they also let off glitter cannons and blew air horns during Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites at the UK’s Glyndebourne Festival.

Who is Just Stop Oil?: The organization describes itself as a group of “ordinary people demanding the UK Government immediately halt all new oil and gas consents and licenses.” Their actions have prompted worldwide controversy as they’ve targeted great works of art and athletic and cultural events, including the Wimbledon tennis final.

What are they hoping to achieve?: Kate Logan, 38, of Just Stop Oil, posted on her Twitter account, “Many years ago, I sang with a youth choir at the Albert Hall, never imagining I would one day disrupt a performance here to draw attention to the planetary crisis we find ourselves in. But that’s what this has come to — our leaders and the press have failed us for decades, and now it’s up to ordinary people to demand the changes we need.”

Watch the disruption for yourself:

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Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a Dora-nominated soprano, writer and yoga teacher. She has performed and created leading roles with companies including Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Dayton Opera, and Aspen Opera, and is a former member of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists. Currently based in Montreal, she is a doctoral student at McGill University — where she recently received the Wirth Vocal Prize — and editor of Art Song Canada magazine.