LONDON (AP) — The BBC has ditched the lyrics of “Rule Britannia!” for its traditional end-of-summer concert amid a debate about the song’s celebration of the British Empire at a time when critics are reevaluating the nation’s colonial past.

Britain’s publicly funded broadcaster said late Monday that the final night of its Proms concert series would feature instrumental versions of “Rule Britannia!” and another patriotic mainstay, “Land of Hope and Glory,” instead of traditional singalongs.

The BBC said it changed this year’s event in light of “much-reduced musical forces” and because there would be no live audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But critics accused the broadcaster of caving in to political correctness and pressure from social justice campaigners.

“The BBC will allow the tune to be played but not sung, thereby offending all shades of opinion all the time,’’ music critic and author Norman Lebrecht wrote in a blog post after the BBC announced the program for the Sept. 12 concert. “There is no excuse for such cowardice. At least one BBC head should roll.’′

The controversy arose Sunday when the Sunday Times newspaper reported that the BBC was considering scrapping the songs amid concerns about their “perceived association with colonialism and slavery.’’

Dalia Stasevska, the 35-year-old Finn who will conduct the concert, had pushed to modernize the event and reduce the “patriotic elements,’’ the newspaper said, without citing a source for the information.