14 JUNE 1969, Page 27

No. 557: Swing, Britannia

COMPETITION

The BBC has decided to drop Land of Hope and Glory and Rule, Britannia from the programme on the last night of the Proms this year, because, it is reported, these traditional items are now thought 'too jingoistic for a Britain about to enter the 1970s'. Competitors are invited to write the opening (maximum twelve lines) of a new national song more in tune with the spirit of the times. Entries, marked 'Competition No. 557,' by 27 June.