3 May marks 70 years since the Royal Festival Hall in London was opened. Now a Grade 1 listed building (the first post-war building to be Grade 1 listed), the Royal Festival Hall was built as part of the Festival of Britain, a five month national exhibition and fair held to help the nation recover after the Second World War.
On 3 May 1951, after only 18 months and an expenditure of £2 million, the Royal Festival Hall opened, with a new concert hall seating 2900 people and an orchestra platform accommodating an orchestra of 100 and a choir of 250. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II were among those who attended a ceremonial concert to mark the hall’s opening.
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