THEY began queueing several hours before the start.

And little wonder.

Bournemouth had waited five years for the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's spectacular Proms in the Park to return home.

The Classical Extravaganza in Meyrick Park on a perfect Friday evening heralded the start of the three day BSO musical festival.

It also marked the final appearance of the charismatic Frank Zielhorst as the BSO Young Conductor in Association.

"What a way to end my time here," he told the Daily Echo.

"A fantastic location, great music and an absolutely amazing orchestra. It will be a fantastic evening."

And so it proved, although there was never any doubt it would be. BSO chief executive, Dougie Scarfe, told the 2,000 strong audience at the beginning: "It really is great to be back."

The evening kicked off with Stars Wars followed by a string of hugely popular classics. Dance of the Hours, Rossini's Barber of Seville, Bach's Toccata and Fugue and Bizet's Carmen.

The second half opened with an amazing Die Fledermaus Overture by Strauss and as darkness fell across Meyrick Park save the lights from the stage, a hush descended as the orchestra delivered the exquisite and moving Largo from Dvorak's New World Symphony.

You could hear a pin drop at times.

The hugely haunting Jurassic Park followed and then the stunning first movement from Rimsky-Korsakov's beautiful and dramatic Scheherazade.

As the concert neared its end, Scarfe paid tribute to the musicians of this world class orchestra, to Zielhorst and to the team who delivered the breathtaking technical support.

But it was not quite over.

As the orchestra burst into Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, Meyrick Park exploded into light, with fireworks, flames and lasers bursting and flashing all around.

It was such an incredible, all encompassing experience that it was difficult to know where to look at times.

For the amiable and supremely enthusiastic Dutchman Zielhorst, it was one heck of a swansong.

He'll be back next year as a guest conductor.

For the BSO as whole - the musicians and everyone involved in the management and technical teams, it was a triumph of epic proportions.

For the audience, simply a stunning evening. They showed their appreciation with wild cheers, whistles and rapturous applause.

Was it worth the five year wait? Most definitely, 1001 times over.

The weekend continues with Symphonic Abba on Saturday night.

Andy Martin