text: For 120 years it has been a great British institution, bringing world-class performances of classical music to the public. But now the BBC has been accused of dumbing down the Proms – by holding an Ibiza-style dance party. This year's Proms will include a late-night concert hosted by DJ Pete Tong, who will pay 'homage to Ibiza and its infectious, energetic brand of club music'. Veteran dance DJ Pete Tong (left) will bring club classics to the Royal Albert Hall for this year's Proms. Pictured right is cartoonist Pugh's take on the 'dumbing down' of the Proms . It will take place on July 29, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Radio 1's broadcasts from Ibiza, and will reinterpret 'club classics' such as Music Sounds Better With You by Stardust and Rhythm Is Rhythm's Strings Of Life. Proms director Edward Blakeman said it was a 'natural' move, adding: 'These 20 years of dance have been a huge phenomenon on Radio 1 so why not celebrate it in a Proms way with a big orchestra? We do now live in a world, thank God, where you can like all kinds of music.' Live music at the so-called Pete Tong Prom will be played by the Jules Buckley Heritage Orchestra, which has worked with pop stars such as Arctic Monkeys, Professor Green and Basement Jaxx. When conductor Sir Henry Wood started the Proms in 1895, he wanted to inspire the public to enjoy top-class classical music. He had accepted a challenge from Robert Newman, manager of the new Queen’s Hall, to ‘run nightly concerts to train the public’. The plan was to gradually raise the standard of music until they ‘created a public for classical and modern music’. Sir Henry more than lived up to that challenge. He conducted the first promenade concert, as it was known, offering tickets for as little as a shilling. Audiences could smoke, drink and eat, keeping the atmosphere informal. He established a tradition of playing Wagner on Mondays and Beethoven on Fridays, later adding Debussy, Strauss, Rachmaninov and Ravel. The Proms moved to the Albert Hall in 1941 after the Queen’s Hall was bombed. By the time of Sir Henry’s death in 1944, they were firmly established as the highlight of the classical music calendar. The BBC was accused of 'undermining' the Proms by Conservative Bill Cash, who said: 'The Proms are one of the great British institutions. Like so many institutions, it is under attack by people who think that being novel is necessarily good. The world loves the Proms as they are. It is extremely damaging to undermine the ethos of the Proms by bringing in fake originality. 'The Proms already have a good, convivial finish, and that is part of the tradition, but to undermine the framework and ethos of the Proms is unacceptable.' The Pete Tong Prom is not the only surprising addition to this year's line-up at the Royal Albert Hall, which runs from July 17 to September 12. There will be a 'grime symphony' featuring rapper Wretch 32, and the Last Night Of The Proms will include a singalong section inspired by The Sound Of Music. The series of 92 concerts will also include a tribute to Sherlock Holmes, with a performance of pieces referenced in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books, including compositions by Wagner and Paganini. It is one of a number of Sunday matinees on the schedule, which are designed to attract families with children as young as five. Sir David Attenborough will host another of the afternoon concerts, featuring music from his natural history television series Life Story. More traditional fare includes the complete Beethoven piano concertos and Sir Simon Rattle conducting Elgar's The Dream Of Gerontius. The DJ's selection is the latest bizarre choice for the Proms (pictured at Albert Hall), which has previously been accused of 'dumbing down' Rapper Fazer (left) and pop singer Paloma Faith (right) have played the Proms in recent years in an attempt to appeal to a younger audience .
target: DJ Pete Tong will present a late night Prom at Albert Hall this summer .
  Bizarre choice may prove controversial with more traditional listeners .
  Former Radio 1 presenter's evening will celebrate club music in Ibiza .