<P> The writing of the song is contemporaneous with the publication of Cecil Rhodes' will--in which he bequeathed his considerable wealth for the specific purpose of promoting "the extension of British rule throughout the world", and added a long detailed list of territories which Rhodes wanted brought under British rule and colonised by British people . The reference to the extension of the British Empire's boundaries may reflect the Boer War, recently won at the time of writing, in which the United Kingdom gained further territory, endowed with considerable mineral wealth . </P> <P> England currently has no agreed national anthem, with "God Save the Queen", the national anthem of the United Kingdom, often being used in sporting events in which England competes separately from the other Home Nations . However, there are calls for this to be changed, and a 2006 survey conducted by the BBC suggested that 55% of the English public would rather have "Land of Hope and Glory" than "God Save the Queen" as their national anthem . </P> <P> "Land of Hope and Glory" was the England team's victory anthem at the Commonwealth Games until 2010, when the public rejected it in a poll in favour of "Jerusalem". </P> <P> The Proms began in 1895: in 1901 Elgar's newly composed' Pomp and Circumstance' March No. 1 was introduced as an orchestral piece (a year before the words were written), conducted by Henry Wood who later recollected "little did I think then that the lovely broad melody of the trio would one day develop into our second national anthem". It was played as "Land of Hope and Glory" in the last concert of the 1905 proms, and at the first and last concerts of the 1909 Proms, which also featured Wood's "Fantasia on British Sea Songs". The two pieces were played one after another at the closing concerts in 1916, 1917 and 1918 . From 1927, the BBC began supporting the Proms, with radio broadcasts bringing the music to an increasingly wide audience . "Land of Hope and Glory" featured in the final concerts for 1928, 1929, 1936 and 1939 . By then, audience participation in the second half of the programme had become a ritual, and from 1947 a boisterous "tradition" was created by the conductor Malcolm Sargent, making "Land of Hope and Glory" part of a standard programme for the event . The "Last Night of the Proms" was broadcast annually on television from 1953 onwards, and Promenaders began dressing up outrageously and waving flags and banners during the climax of the evening . In some years "Land of Hope and Glory" and the other favourites were left out of the programme, but reinstated after press and public outrage . In an exception, for the 2001 Last Night concert following the September 11 attacks, the conductor Leonard Slatkin substituted a more serious programme, featuring Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", but despite the success of this occasion, the now traditional pieces returned the following year . </P>

Edward elgar land of hope and glory lyrics