70 years of the Royal Festival Hall
‘I was overwhelmed by a shock of breathless delight at the originality and beauty of the interior. It felt as if I had been instantly transported far into the future and that I was on another planet’.
Those were the words of journalist Bernard Levin when he first set foot in the Royal Festival Hall. Having initially stunned with its remarkable modernist architecture when it opened on the South Bank as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain, our iconic auditorium has continued to provide breathless delight for audiences ever since.
From Barenboim to Bowie, Maria Callas to M.I.A, royalty to the Rat Pack, our iconic Thames-side auditorium continues to be at the forefront of London arts and culture, whilst never forgetting it’s Lambeth location. And so, as the Royal Festival Hall celebrates its 70th birthday on 3 May this year we take a look back through its star-studded archives.
With the aid of this interactive timeline, join us for a scroll through 70 years of the Royal Festival Hall.