Queen Elizabeth Hall

Perfect place for a romantic date or taking your mom out.

I must confess that I am on the mission to check out as many music and theater venues in London as possible. The newest addition to my list was Queen Elizabeth Hall. Although I have been to its bar many times (there are no pubs around, so a panoramic river terrace with overpriced drinks comes handy quite often when showing visiting friends around), I never actually attended any concert here.

So free tickets from BBC Orchestra were something right up my alley. We went to watch The Night in Spanish Gardens by Spaniard Falla. The Queen Elizabeth Hall is the second largest concert hall on the Southbank Centre site, hosting chamber orchestras, quartets, choirs, dance performances and the opera. Aside from the main concert hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall also contains two smaller venues, the Purcell Room and The Front Room. It was built in 1951 for the Festival of Britain. The QEH is an example of brutalist architecture.

There are so many things to Lomograph: the Zerman Sculpture in stainless steel (by William Pye, 1972), dogs walking on the beach (yes, there is the real sandy beach if the tide is low), sand sculptures, crazy-looking trees and of course, people. The undercroft of the foyer building has been popular with skateboarders since the early 70s and it is widely acknowledged to be London’s most distinct and popular skateboarding area. The area is used by skateboarders, BMXers, graffiti artists, taggers, photographers, buskers, and performance artists, among others. Definitely a lot to see!

http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/queen-elizabeth-hall

Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London
SE1 8XX

Don’t forget to check Hayward Gallery, which is situated in the same building. Entrance is usually free, but if you want to see an exhibition by a British art powerhouse like Tracey Emmin, for example, be prepared to pay £12. http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/hayward-gallery-visual-arts

written by neja on 2011-04-15 #places #culture #music #bar #river #concert #panorama #show #performance #views #location #london #uk #venue #south-bank #queen-elizabeth-hall #lcg