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Mr Andy Dunn gave us an interesting talk, illustrated with overhead projector slides, on the three great exhibitions of the past 150 years; the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Festival of Britain 1951 and the Millennium dome of 2000.
The three were linked, apart from the obvious fact that all three aimed at exhibiting something of British endeavour, by having attracted a large amount of criticism in the months before their opening.
The 1851 exhibition was conceived after a period of unrest throughout the country; food riots, the Peterloo Massacre, anti-Corn Law protests, and a spate of revolutions across Europe. One aim of the enterprise was to show the peace and unity of nations. It cost £80,000 and realised a profit of £186,000 during a period of six months and had 6,000,000 visitors, some on several occasions, of whom some 4.5 million were "shilling" per day.
The critics of the scheme had varying themes. Some were concerned about the costs, some worried about the crowds of working-class people who might use the occasion to cause trouble, others saw the expected influx of foreigners as a threat. Punch consistently poked fun at all and everything connected to the project. Before the exhibition opened cartoons were printed showing the commissioners, including Prince Albert, in an unflattering way. When the exhibition was opened in May of 1851 Punch carried on with its traditional portrayals. Foreigners were ridiculed and insulted as were the working-class visitors. The fact that all classes visited the Crystal Palace and, possibly, rubbed shoulders was material for the cartoonists.
Nevertheless, there were no riots, foreigners from all parts of the world visited London without any problems, the building did not fall down, and a profit was made which allowed land to be bought in South Kensington and the building of the V & A, the Albert Hall, the Natural History Museum and the setting up of the Department of Science and Arts.
The 1951 Festival of Britain was also conceived after a period of difficulty. The Second World War and the period before in the Depression years. The country was still suffering from austerity with rationing of some items. The idea behind the scheme was of trying to cheer up the nation; a rejuvenation.
It was intended to be forward looking with an emphasis on what Britain would be doing. Again the cartoonists of the day pilloried those mainly involved. Herbert Morrison and Hugh Gaitskell were the butt of several newspaper cartoons. The costs at a time of continuing austerity were also attacked.
The buildings an exhibitions on the South Bank site were much simpler in design than perhaps the glass and iron Crystal Palace. There was an emphasis in industry with statues and concrete relief's showing industrial themes. The buildings were designed with straight lines of concrete and glass. Fun was catered for by the Battersea fun fair which was next door to the main site.
Financially it at least broke even.
The Millennium Dome was intended to be an exhibition of Britain in the 21st Century. Much of the initial intention got lost in the eventual contents of the building. As with the earlier projects the cost of the whole scheme received criticism as did the design of the building. After the opening the media seemed to attack even more, 'a case of sour grapes at being excluded from the festivities?' Mr Dunn asked.
At least, he felt, the aerial display by the acrobats was worth the entrance price. There were 6 million visitors, the same number who visited Hyde Park 150 years before when the population of the country was only c.18 million.
As a conclusion our speaker felt that the two earlier exhibitions had proved their early critics wrong, the were successful. The last was the victim of much higher expectations and difficulty to please modern people.
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