The Art of Photojournalism: Image of the Month
All the Fun of the Fair, 14th May 1951, uncredited photographer, Associated Newspapers
By Alan Sparrow
May 3rd marked 75 years since the opening of The Festival of Britain, the Labour government’s idea to lift the gloom of the war years and to celebrate a bright future, and to make the point they invested £12m in a party.
Herbert Morrison, the deputy prime minister, was in charge, and it was soon ridiculed by the Tory opposition as “Morrison’s Folly”.
Not only was the party to celebrate the end of the war but to commemorate the centenary of the Great Exhibition in 1851 - the original plan, overtaken by the more upbeat prospect of the celebration of the end of war. Morrison described it as an opportunity for the people to give themselves “a pat on the back”.
One of the main areas was the fun fair at the Festival Pleasure Gardens at Battersea, where this photograph was taken by an unknown Daily Mail photographer showing festival party-goers enjoying the dodgems.
The other main display area was being built at the South Bank, saluting British arts, sciences and technology. London was very much the epicentre of all the celebrations, but councils throughout the country did their bit to celebrate.
The Royal Festival Hall was built in a modernist style, and beside it was the Dome of Discovery which boasted the largest domed building in the world at that time, standing 93 feet tall and 365 feet in diameter. Also alongside the Festival Hall was the Telecinema, a small but popular venue that welcomed 458,693 visitors in the five months the festival was open. So popular was it that at the end of the festival there was an appeal for it to continue, and so it eventually became the home of the British Film Institute.
Thousands of display stands were built in 22 pavilions on 27 acres of the South Bank which had been decimated by war time bombers, and the only survivor to this day is the Royal Festival Hall, which was always intended remain in the agreement with London County Council. Altogether 8.5m people visited the site, and it was generally considered to be a success - it even made a profit.
The government was ousted by the Tories and Winston Churchill in October 1951, just one month after the closure of the festival, and its demolition began almost immediately with everything ordered to be demolished except for the Festival Hall. But a cultural legacy was to grow into the Southbank arts centre we know now.