Royal Albert Hall

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The Royal Albert Hall was built with profits from the Great Exhibition, and commemorated the death of Prince Albert in 1861. Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1867, and opened it four years later on the 29th March 1871.

Street map of London showing the Royal Albert Hall

The building was designed by Captain Francis Fowke and Henry Darracott, but problems with the acoustics led to it being labelled less than suitable for music – a terrible echo from the domed roof led to a famous joke: The Royal Albert Hall is the only place where a British composer can be sure of hearing his work twice. The problem was eventually solved in 1969, when a series of large fibreglass discs were suspended from the roof.

The Proms concerts

The most famous event held at London’s Albert Hall are the Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts – or The Proms. They were originally held in the Queen’s Hall on South Bank, until the Germans bombed it in 1941. They then transferred to the Royal Albert Hall and rose in popularity.

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Live at the Royal Albert Hall..
Cinematic Orchestra
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They are held for seven weeks every summer when visiting orchestras, famous soloists and conductors join in with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The famous ‘last night’ is a typically rowdy affair, with bombastic classical pieces and nationalistic roof-busters.

Facts and information

Address:
Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, Kensington,
London SW7 2AP
England
Telephone:
Work +44 (0) 207 589 3203
Bus route:
9 10 49 52 70 360 452
Train station:
Gloucester Road, High Street Kensington, Knightsbridge, South Kensington
Opening times:
Guided tour - 10–3 (Fri–Tue)
View of the Royal Albert Hall in LondonRoyal Albert HallAerial view of the Royal Albert Hall, with Kensington Gardens behindRoyal Albert Hall, London
Drawing of the Albert Hall’s grand opening, 19th March 1871 Albert Hall’s opening night, 1871First concert at the Royal Albert Hall, 19th March 1871 First concert, 19th March 1871

Famous events held at the Royal Albert Hall

Demonstration of Morse code (1872)
Dinner party for 1,400 guests (1888)
Ice Carnival, with snow shoe races (1889)
Amateur boxing contest (1908)
26-mile marathon – 524 circuits (1909)
Titanic Band Memorial Concert (1912)
Mass baptism (1928)
The Ford Motor Show (1931)
World table-tennis championships (1938)
Boxing match involving the Krays (1951)
World trampoline championships (1964)
Eurovision song contest (1968)
Miss World contest (1969)
Muhammad Ali boxing match (1971)
Queen’s Christmas speech (1989)
Sumo wrestling competition (1991)
Lecture by Stephen Hawking (1995)
‘This is Your Life’ for David Essex (1995)
John McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg (1997)


Royal Albert Hall – Related articles…

Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall is one of London’s main concert venues, and is part of the Southbank Centre.

Events at the Royal Albert Hall:

Cirque du Soleil, at the Royal Albert Hall
  • 4th January – 7th February 2009
  • The Royal Albert Hall welcomes back the Cirque du Soleil with their brand-new show -- "Quidam". The world-famous circus troop mix death-defying acrobatics with aerial stunts with choreographed dance moves.
Carols by Candlelight, at the Royal Albert Hall
  • 21st – 24th December 2008
  • Sing Christmas carols in the splending surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall. Their popular "Carols by Candlelight" event mixes singalong music with festive readings from Charles Dickens and the Bible. The performers add to the Christmassy scene by dressing up in 18th-century clothes.
Handel’s Messiah, at the Royal Albert Hall
  • 19th December 2008, 7:30 PM
  • Handel's Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall has become something of a Christmas tradition in London. This year the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will be joined by a 500-strong choir and the soloists Lisa Milne, Paul Auty, Leah Marian-Jones and James Rutherford.

External links:

 Royal Albert Hall concert tickets
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