Gaia x BBC Concert Orchestra: Sounds of the Earth

Jerram’s stunning sculpture of the Earth, Gaia, floats above the orchestra as they perform timeless music on our Royal Festival Hall stage, inviting us to reflect on our relationship with our planet and the universe beyond.

Measuring seven metres in diameter and created using detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface, Gaia allows us to experience what’s known as the ‘overview effect’: that feeling of utter awe astronauts have said they feel when viewing Earth from space.

The scene is set for tonight’s concert with a reflective work by Vaughan Williams, which opens with solemn chords before expanding into soaring strings. We skip forward in time for two atmospheric, layered works by Oscar-winning composer and cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir.

Gaia bathes in musical light as we hear contemporary composer Dobrinka Tabakova’s Sun Triptych, composed in 2007. The shimmering ‘Dawn’ builds to a glorious ‘Day’, alive with movement and warmth, and then ‘Dusk’ settles in, meditative and mellifluous.

Speaking directly to the heart, Barber’s transcendent Adagio for Strings is a staple in film soundtracks, thanks to its raw emotional power. And in Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, bells and layers of descending strings draw the concert to a dramatic close.

Performers

BBC Concert Orchestra

Chloé van Soeterstède conductor

Repertoire

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis

Hildur Guðnadóttir: Bær; Opaque from Without Sinking

Dobrinka Tabakova: Sun Triptych

Barber: Adagio for strings

Arvo Pärt: Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten

Need to know

Age guidance

For ages 7+. Under-12s must be accompanied by an adult on our site.

Event information

Box package
You can buy an exclusive box package for this event. More details of our Royal Festival Hall exclusive box package.

Times & tickets

Dates, times and prices

Dates & times

28 Aug 2026, 7.30pm

Run time

1 hour and 10 minutes (approx)

All timings are approximate and subject to change

Standard entry

from £22 + £4 booking fee

Ticket prices may be adjusted without notice to reflect demand.

Concessions

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Refunds and exchanges

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For your visit

This event is held at the Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre

The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.

Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.

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A lively crowd cheers with raised hands, while a performer in a white hat and suit plays guitar, against red lighting.

A guitarist performing on a dark stage at the Royal Festival Hall, lit up by multiple spotlights.

Pianis Víkingur Ólafsson is seated at a grand piano while playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the stage of Royal Festival Hall

Organist Carol Williams plays the Royal Festival Hall organ whiich is illumiated with bold colours

The Royal Festival Hall is home to our largest auditorium as well as The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe and Skylon restaurant.

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On Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace. You can grab a coffee and a slice of freshly made cake from our Ballroom Cafe. Or alternatively enjoy destination dining in the restaurant at Skylon.

From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.

Other places to eat and drink whilst you’re here