The Southbank Centre has been handed £10 million to go towards fixing up the Grade I-listed Royal Festival Hall, its oldest and largest building.
Royal Festival Hall first opened during the Festival of Britain in 1951. It’s best known for hosting classical music concerts but over its 75 years has also everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to Pink Floyd to Elton John to Massive Attack. This month, it’s hosting a series of gigs as part of Harry Styles’s Meltdown, including a one-off show from the singer himself with a live orchestra.
Anyway, back to the huge wad of cash. All of those decades hosting musical legends takes its toll on a place. The £10 million funding will be spent on fixing the hall’s leaky roofs, upgrading drainage, replacing its failing glazing, modernising its rigging systems which are now ‘obsolete and at risk of failure’, and ensuring the venue’s ‘long-term resilience’.
The project will be carried out by architects Haworth Tompkins, though there isn’t any indication of the timeline just yet, or whether the venue will need to close at any point. Lucy Picardo, director at Haworth Tompkins, said: ‘The works will focus on fabric upgrades replacing ageing fabric to improve thermal performance, energy efficiency, acoustic performance and long-term resilience, ensuring the building continues to serve future generations.
‘This project represents an exciting opportunity to contribute to the ongoing evolution of the Southbank Centre and to support the Royal Festival Hall.’
The funding is part of a wider £30 million package designed to help London’s cultural venues, museums and libraries carry out repairs and upgrades. The cash has been shared amongst 24 organisations including Electric Ballroom, Royal Opera House, The Lyric Theatre Hammersmith and London Transport Museum.
Michelle Walker, London Area Director, Arts Council England, said of the scheme: ‘This significant investment is a vital step in safeguarding the future of cultural venues, museums and libraries at a time when many are facing real challenges. Across London, these spaces are the backbone of our city, where communities come together.’
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