Book description
As the 2012 Olympics sets about re-making a whole swathe of east
London, Barry Turner's book marks the 60th anniversary of the Festival
of Britain, which did the same for London's South Bank after the war.
Where the stupendous, Pharaonic construction site of the 2012
Olympics and its £9 bn budget is all in aid of a few weeks of running
and cycle races, 60 years ago there was a far more ambitious cultural
event. Centred on London's South Bank, which was cleared of its
industry and victorian architecture, the Festival of Britain sought
not only to celebrate the best of Britishness but also to set new
standards and paradigms for modern design, aesthetics and architecture.
With satellite festivals all over Britain, it attraced 8. 5
million visitors in a year (the Millennium Dome managed only 5. 5
million). The Royal Festival Hall was built, as well as the Dome of
Discovery (then the largest unsupported roof in the world), and the
long-lamented Skylon (a futuristic aluminium pylon). The Scandinavian
design we now take for granted with IKEA's furniture was also a big
influence on the Festival buildings' architecture. As well as
nostalgic appeal its story constitutes a kind of sequel to David
Kynaston's Austerity Britain, as the Festival gave the British people
permission to enjoy themselves and look forward to a future of
modernity and prosperity.
Barry Turner is the author of Outpost of Occupation, about the
wartime occupation of the Channel Islands (also published by Aurum), and
a history of the Suez campaign, and is editor of The Writer's Handbook.
