Royal Festival Hall

The Royal Festival Hall stands as the only permanent structure remaining from the nineteen fifty one Festival of Britain. That massive national exhibition was held on the bomb-damaged south bank of the Thames to celebrate the centenary of the eighteen fifty one Great Exhibition and to lift the nation's spirits during a period of deep post-war austerity. While the temporary pavilions of the festival were dismantled once the event concluded, this concert hall stayed as a enduring monument to the country's mid-century optimism.