The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC

Robert Newman was the manager of the newly built Queen's Hall in London and had arranged symphony orchestra concerts at the venue in the past. His idea though was to reach a wider audience by providing a more popular programme and keeping ticket prices low in a more informal atmosphere. People were even allowed to eat, drink and smoke at these concerts though they were asked to refrain from striking matches during the singer's solos.

I am going to run nightly concerts and train the public by easy stages. Popular at first, gradually raising the standard until I have created a public for classical and modern music.
~Robert Newman

Newman hired Henry Wood to serve as conductor of the first Proms series and to be the conductor of the Queen's Hall orchestra. Wood was a well-known organist, accompanist, vocal coach and conductor of choirs, orchestras and amateur opera companies.

The first Proms concert took place on August 10, 1895 at the Queen's Hall in London.

[Henry Wood] also promoted young, talented performers, and he fought to raise orchestral standards, making himself unpopular in 1904 with a successful bid to scrap the system whereby orchestral players could send deputies to the rehearsals and appear in person only for the concert.

Source: BBC Website - History of the Proms

Sponsorship of the Henry Wood Proms had been undertaken by music publishers Chappell & Co in 1915 as Newman had been running into financial problems.

The Proms continued to run at a financial loss over the years though and in 1927 Chappell & Co withdrew their support.

This same year, the BBC was established as a corporation with a mandate to 'inform, educate, and entertain'. The BBC took over the Proms in 1927.

In 1930 the BBC Symphony Orchestra was created.

In 1939 England declared war on Germany. Three days later, the BBC decentralised its music department and made the decision to stop sponsoring The Proms.

Private sponsorship for The Proms was found by Henry Wood in 1940 and 1941. The BBC Orchestra was replaced by the London Symphony Orchestra. Air raids over London intensified in 1940 though and the season only lasted 4 weeks.

On 10 May 1941 Queens Hall was gutted by a Luftwaffe bomb.

The only other Hall available to hold concerts was The Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London.

The BBC resumed sponsorship of The Henry Wood Proms in 1942.

Two significant events with the Proms happened in this year. The 50th Proms was held and Henry Wood celebrated his 75th birthday.

This was to be Wood's final Proms. He died 3 weeks later.

Henry Wood continues to be honoured every year though when concert-goers and organisers pay tribute to him by placing a laurel wreath upon his bust which looks down upon the concert stage.