London Weekend Break
The South Bank Centre
The South Bank Centre is located on the southern bank of the river Thames and comprises the world’s biggest presentation and display area for art in all of its forms. Within this centre you can see theatre productions, listen to recitals, watch movie presentations or look at physical works of art.
The South Bank Centre sits between Westminster and Blackfriars bridges and occupies a once derelict area of land that has evolved since the Festival of Britain in 1951. It is made up from a number of rather ugly buildings, but it is function rather than appearance that attracts several million visitors every year, all with the aim of immersing themselves in music, dance, poetry, film, art or crafts.
Today this centre includes every modern convenience and offers bars, cafes and restaurants along with shops and numerous exhibitions. The centre is also in a state of continual evolution as it seeks to offer more and better facilities and displays to is visitors and performers.
Links relating to London
Main features of the South Bank Centre
The main features of the South Bank Centre include the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell room, which between them can hold almost 4,500 people. These theatres are used primarily for music recitals and the Royal festival Hall is the current residency of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Other buildings and specialist areas include, the Voice Box, used for the reading of poetry, the National Film Theatre and the South Bank Crafts Centre which is actively used by craftspeople.
Also in the centre is the Royal National Theatre (including the three theatres of, Olivier, Cottesloe and Lyttleton) and the Howard Gallery which frequently shows travelling exhibitions by world renown artists from the past and present.
Most of the exhibitions in the foyer areas are free, but productions, recitals and some of the other displays have an admission and may require advanced booking.
The nearest tube stations are Westminster and Blackfriars.
