• Travelsignposts Home
  • Country Guides
  • City Guides
  • River Cruises
  • Europe Photos
  • About Us

London Travel

  • Home
  • Photos
  • Map
  • Weather
  • Site Map
  • Destinations
  • Sightseeing
  • Shopping
  • Eating & Drinking
  • Useful facts
  • Getting around
  • News & Events
You are here: Home / News & Events / Festival of Britain – 60th Anniversary

Festival of Britain – 60th Anniversary

By Helen Page Leave a Comment

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn

60 Years on, The Legacy and Influence of the Festival of Britain Lives On:

Festival of Britain 1951

The Festival of Britain is 60 years old this year and to commemorate its 60th anniversary, London’s Southbank Centre is holding a four-month long festival from April to September.

Launched in 1951 on the South Bank of the Thames, the Festival of Britain was a post-war morale booster.  After the bombing blitz of the Second World War, much of the city of London was in ruins and the Festival of Britain marked the beginning of the redevelopment of the area.

South Bank London

The South Bank is now home to the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Hayward Gallery, the Poetry Library, the British Film Institute and the National Theatre.  Today, the Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, and the anniversary celebrates the best of British culture and creativity.

Festival of Britain 2011

Highlights of this year’s Festival of Britain include a museum of memorabilia, the first major London exhibition of the work of British artist Tracey Emin, and a Young Pianists Week with a mass event of 100 young players playing dozens of pianos alongside Chinese virtuoso Lang Lang.

Throughout the Festival there will be various themed weekends, including:

  • a Royal Wedding weekend (April 29 – May 2) and
  • a Chorus weekend (May 13–15)

The Chorus weekend includes a mass performance of choirs from around the UK, singing Handel’s Messiah.

Meltdown Festival

Curating this year’s annual Meltdown Festival is Ray Davies from the Kinks. Sure to be very popular, the Ray Davies Meltdown (June 10–12 and  June 17–19) will celebrate pop music through the decades – from the 1950s to present day. Davies created the song Waterloo Sunset, and the SouthBank Centre is next to Waterloo Bridge.

The 1951 Festival of Britain was a landmark event visited by millions and its legacy and influence continues to live on.

The 2011 Festival of Britain runs from April 22 to September 4.  To see what’s on and book tickets, see the Southbank Centre website on www.southbankcentre.co.uk.

Address:

Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London SE1 8XX
Tel: +44 20 7960 4200

Click here to get a free PDF of this post

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn

Related

Filed Under: News & Events Tagged With: britain festival, festival of britain, festival of britain 1951, south bank, southbank centre

Things to do in London

avatar

About Helen Page

Helen Page is a prolific blogger and ardent traveller; she runs Travelsignposts with her professional writer and photographer husband Tony.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You can also find us on

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest Additions

  • Great British Beer Festival 2019 – London
  • When Getting Lost in London is Half the Fun
  • Claiming VAT Refund at London Heathrow is an Endurance Test
  • Christmas in London: Things to See and Do at Christmas
  • Get The Most Spectacular View of London from The Shard

Plan and Book Your Trip


eNews and Updates

feedburner Sign up now to get emailed news as well as other site updates!

Get the Guerrilla Travel Photography ebook here now!
City Guides
Country Guides
River Cruises

Who is behind Travelsignposts?

Helen and Tony Page at Singapore Changi Airport

We're Helen and Tony Page, and we love travelling - lucky as we've been doing it for the last few decades!

Tony has long been a professional photographer and writer, but Helen now writes most of the posts and takes a lot of photos herself!

Travelsignposts is our main travel planning site, but we've just launched Travelsignposts China and Tony also runs the Travelsignposts Photo and Guerrilla Travel Photography web sites, as well as publishing the Take Better Digital Photos and Guerrilla Travel Photography eBooks.

Read more about Helen and Tony or contact them.

Other Countries

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • England
  • Estonia
  • Europe (General)
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Portugal
  • Scotland
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine

Resources

  • Take Better Digital Photos eBook Take Better Digital Photos eBook
  • Take Better Digital Photos Free eCourse
  • Travel Signposts Photo – our main travel photography site
  • Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook Guerrilla Travel Photography eBook

Copyright Travelsignposts Pty Ltd © 2025 Log in

Get a free PDF of this post!
Just enter your email address below and we'll send it to you immediately.

Please enter your Email Address