Two Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted the opening night of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall after running on to the stage.
The pair were taken off stage at the west London venue within moments of unfurling their orange banners on Friday evening, according to footage on social media.
The climate campaign group wrote on Twitter: “We cannot afford to fiddle while Rome burns.
“Two Just Stop Oil supporters have ran onto the stage at the Royal Albert Hall on the opening night of the BBC proms.”
One stage invader was Kate Logan, 38, from London. In quotes posted on the Just Stop Oil Twitter account, she said: “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.”
Pia Bastide, 29, a community worker from London, was also involved in the demonstration.
She said: “I’m sorry to harp on about it, but business as usual isn’t working any more. We can no longer ignore this crisis when extreme temperatures are scorching Europe right now.
“Last week, the secretary general of the United Nations said that the climate crisis is ‘out of control’. I refuse to accept that my future is being sold away, one new oil licence at a time, and do nothing.”
Three Just Stop Oil activists also interrupted the start of Channel 4 programme The Last Leg, which is broadcast live.
The protesters handed hosts Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe orange Just Stop Oil vests before being led away by security, according to footage posted on social media.
Last month, Just Stop Oil protesters interrupted a performance during the Glyndebourne opera festival in East Sussex by letting off glitter cannon and blowing air horns.
The disruption took place during a performance of Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites at the festival near Lewes.
Protests have also interrupted Wimbledon, London Pride and an Ashes cricket match in recent weeks.
• This article was amended on 15 July 2023. An earlier version stated that the Proms protesters threw confetti and sounded air horns. This information, which came from a statement from Just Stop Oil, could not be independently verified and the reference was removed.
