BBC Proms concerts are on every night of the week from July-mid Sept and feature a different concert every night. Concerts range from classical symphonies to world-premieres by new composers to late-night concerts featuring jazz or choral music. You can order tickets ahead of time for a seat or you can join those promenading for a cheap (£4 in 2002) ticket for standing room in the gallery or the arena.

The line for the arena is always longer and while most concerts start at 7pm or 7:30pm, you probably need to be in line by 3pm or 4pm to get a good seat in the gallery. There are signs marking the beginning of the queue for the arena and gallery outside the Royal Albert Hall. Those lucky enough to get in the arena stand (or sit on the floor if it's not too crowded) in front of the orchestra. There's a little lily pond in the middle with chairs around it but those not looking old or invalid will probably get stern looks if sitting there.

The gallery on the other hand is at the top of the enormous hall and wraps almost all the way around. This is my favorite area because there is plenty of room and people bring blankets and picnics up here even though there are signs asking you not to. If you get in line by 5pm before the 5:30pm after-work crowd arrives, you can usually be at the front end of the line and get a position in the gallery along the railing which gives you a good view of the entire hall during the concert. There are also toilets up in the gallery which are quite convenient.

Waiting in line for the concerts can be part of the fun if you bring an umbrella (to block too much sun or rain), a good book to read, a newspaper to sit on, and a good friend. The best concert I saw in 2002 was a perfomance of Mahler's 8th Symphony which is dubbed "symphony of a thousand" because with a huge orchestra and several hundred singers there were almost 800 people on the stage. The sound was enormous. This is the only time I wish I could have been in the arena instead of the gallery, although the concert was so incredibly popular that we got some of the last tickets for the gallery despite standing in line for over 2 hrs.