Royal Albert Hall In London
Hotels Near Royal Albert Hall
ROYAL ALBERT HALL
Located in the City of Westminster in London, England, is one of Britain`s most famous buildings. The Royal Albert Hall is an art venue with a difference.
The wonderful dome shaped architecture of the building makes this a unique place and an art all in itself. Situated in Knightsbridge it lies within the heart of the tourist centre of London and has thousands of visitors yearly.
The erection of this distinctive building began in 1867 and Queen Victoria laid the foundation stones of the building on 20 May 1867. Originally to be called The Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, Queen Victoria decided to re-name it The Royal Albert Hall, after the recent death of her husband the Prince Consort, Prince Albert.
It is a national memorial to the Prince Consort, whose idea of building a series of public galleries and venues for art and culture, after the Great Exhibition of 1851, was born. It was officially opened by Queen Victoria on 29th March 1871 and has been a building of enormous cultural significance for London and indeed Britain ever since.
The annual Summer Proms concerts, previously hosted in the Queen`s Hall until this venue was bombed in 1941, have been successfully held here for the last 65 years and the building will be for ever associated with the event.
Also, thousands of concerts from classical and in recent years, pop and rock performances have been held here. Ballet and theatrical performances as well award ceremonies and tremendous banquets have all taken place in this magnificent venue.
The venue hosts great and important sporting tournaments and also the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance annually takes place here to co-inside with Remembrance Sunday.
Standing 83 metres high and with a circumference of 72 metres, The Royal Albert Hall can hold as many as 9000, however safety restrictions nowadays limit this number to about 2/3rds of this figure. The impressive dome structure with its wrought iron and glass roof go to make this building one of the most distinct and recognised in London and the Royal Albert Hall is now a is now a Grade 1 listed building.
The lighting which was originally gas, much to the discomfort of some of the patrons, was changed to electric around 1897 making visiting the venue a more pleasant experience. A frieze hangs around the great hall. This frieze is in dedication of the Hall`s initial purpose to show the success and triumph of arts and sciences and there are sixteen subjects depicted in it.
Thousands of people, around the world, know and recognise this great building and many more people who visit London will frequent this venue in years to come.
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