Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues located in London, UK, on the South Bank of the River Thames between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge. It comprises three main buildings; the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and The Hayward art gallery, and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. Prior to a rebranding in early 2007, it was known as the South Bank Centre.
Southbank Centre’s 21 acre estate, from Waterloo Bridge to the London Eye.
Nearby, although not part of Southbank Centre, are the National Theatre and BFI Southbank. This is one of the most popular public spaces in London, part of a pedestrian-friendly stretch of the river extending eastwards from Westminster Bridge, past The London Eye, Southbank Centre, Tate Modern and the new Shakespeare’s Globe to the east.
In all, Southbank Centre manages a 21 acre (85,000 m²) site from County Hall to Waterloo Bridge, and includes the Purcell Room, Saison Poetry Library, Jubilee Gardens and The Queen’s Walk, attracting more than three million visitors annually. Nearly a thousand paid performances of music, dance and literature are staged at Southbank Centre each year, as well as over 300 free foyer events and an education programme, in and around the performing arts venues. In addition, three to six major art exhibitions per annum are presented at The Hayward, whilst National Touring Exhibitions reach over 100 venues across the UK.
In February 2002, Lord Hollick was appointed Chairman of the South Bank Board Limited, the parent company of Southbank Centre. In May of the same year, Michael Lynch, former Chief Executive of Sydney Opera House, was appointed Chief Executive. September 2005 saw the arrival of Jude Kelly as Southbank Centre’s Artistic Director.
The closest Underground stations are Waterloo and Embankment.
History and development
Visitors to the Festival of Britain in front of the Dome of Discovery.
The history of Southbank Centre can be traced back to the Festival of Britain, held in 1951. In what was described as „a tonic for the nation“ by Herbert Morrison, the Labour Party government minister responsible for the event, the Festival of Britain aimed to demonstrate Britain’s recovery from World War II by showcasing the best in science, technology, arts and industrial design. The Festival of Britain ran from May to September 1951, and by June the following year most of it had been dismantled, following the victory of Winston Churchill and the Conservative Party in the general election of 1951. The Royal Festival Hall is the only surviving building from the Festival of Britain.
In the period 1962-65, the Royal Festival Hall was extended towards the river and Waterloo Station and refurbished. The London County Council (later, Greater Londo Council) took the decision, in 1955, to build a second concert hall and an art gallery on the eastern part of the South Bank site previously occupied by a lead works and shot tower (and which had been earmarked as a site for the National Theatre. It was another 12 years before the Queen Elizabeth Hall and linked the Purcell Room opened to the public. Collectively, the venues were to be known as South Bank Concert Halls. In 1968, The Hayward opened, albeit under direct management of the Arts Council. The new buildings had their main entrances at first floor level and were linked by an extensive elevated concrete walkway system to the Royal Festival Hall and the Shell Centre. This vertical separation of pedestrian and vehicle traffic proved unpopular due to the difficulty pedestrians had in navigating through the complex, and the dark and under-used spaces at ground level below the walkways.
Following abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986, the South Bank Board was formed to take over operational control of the concert halls. The following year, the South Bank Board took over the administrative running of The Hayward from the Arts Council. Collectively, the arts venues, along with Jubilee Gardens, were to be known as Southbank Centre, becoming responsible to Arts Council England as an independent arts institution (after transitional arrangements).