The Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is an arts venue situated in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941. The Royal Albert Hall is one of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, recognisable the world over. Since its opening on 29th of March 1871, the hall has played host to a multitude of different events and legendary figures and has been affectionately titled 'The Nation's Village Hall'. The world's leading artists from every kind of performance genre have appeared on its stage. Each year it hosts more than 350 performances including classical concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, tennis, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and lavish banquets. It also hosts the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, held the day before Remembrance Sunday.
The Hall was originally supposed to have been called The Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed by Queen Victoria to Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences when laying the foundation stone as a dedication to her deceased husband and consort Prince Albert.
The hall is oval in shape, has a capacity of 8,000 people and has accommodated as many as 9,000. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the hall is 41 m high. Around the outside of the hall is a great mosaic frieze, depicting "The Triumph of Arts and Sciences", in reference to the Hall's dedication. Above the frieze is an inscription in one-foot high terracotta letters. This combines historical fact and Biblical quotations. The designers of the hall were heavily influenced by ancient amphitheatres, but had also been exposed to the ideas of Gottfried Semper while he was working at the South Kensington Museum. The Hall was constructed mainly of Fareham Red brick, with terracotta block decoration. The dome on top was made of steel and glazed.
The official opening ceremony of the Royal Albert Hall was on 29th of March 1871. After a welcoming speech by Edward, the Prince of Wales, a concert followed and the Hall's acoustic problems became immediately apparent. These were not properly tackled until 1969 when a series of large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly known as "mushrooms" or "flying saucers") were installed in the roof to cut down the notorious echo.
The Hall has more recently undergone a rolling programme (1996 - 2004) of renovation and development to enable it to meet the demands of the next century of events and performances. The exterior of the building is largely unchanged, though. The works included a major rebuilding of the great organ, which nowadays is the second largest pipe organ with 9,999 pipes in the UK. Now the hall is used primarily as a live events venue. Graduation ceremonies for students for Imperial College are also held in, and in addition to these events, it is possible to take guided tours of the interior of the hall. The lounge has also been used for concerts by popular artists: •
On the 15th of September 1963 The Beatles and The Rolling Stones performed on the same bill for the only time.
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On the 9th and 10th of May 1965 were Bob Dylan's first two performances.
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In 1966, Bob Dylan returns and performs controversial "electric" 2nd set.
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On the 6th of April 1968: 13th Eurovision Song Contest. Spain won with "La la la" performed by Massiel.
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In 1969, Pink Floyd performed at the Albert Hall and received a life-time ban for setting two cannons off during their show.
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On the 9th of January 1970 Led Zeppelin gave a concert that was recorded for a DVD
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ABBA ended their 1977 European tour at the Hall with two sold-out concerts. Tickets for the concerts were available only by mail application and it was later revealed that the box-office received, astonishingly, 3.5 million requests for tickets. ABBA was considered the most important concert in the hall history
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The Corrs on 1998 St. Patrick's Day -of course, the Corrs are Irish!
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The Cure played a 3-hour concert on the 1st of April 2006.
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Sugababes played on the 20th of March 2008
Photos: -First: exterior of The Royal Albert Hall. -Second: Detail of The Triumph of Arts and Sciences. -Third: The opening ceremony on March 29, 1871. -Fourth: interior of The Royal Albert Hall (nowadays).
Heura L & Anna A. Laia R. from 1st bat B and Joan Albert from 1st bat C