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Great Court at British Museum
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behind the scenes
London open house: weekendannual opportunity to go behind the scenes at
700 otherwise private buildings.
Scores of properties across the city open their doors for curious onlookers in the ever-popular Open House Week-end – the capital’s largest architectural festival .page 127 . Participating once again is the Foreign Office & India Office at Whitehall, the lavish Italianate-style edifice that was completed in 1868. Designed by George Gilbert Scott, the Grade I-listed building is renowned for its ornate ceilings and glorious staircases, as well as the magnificently deco-rated Durbar Court.
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september Paralympics cap London’s splendid summer
1st
1-2-3-4 shoreditchSaturday 1st September 2012Shoreditch Park, Hoxton, London N1 6TAThe 1-2-3-4 Shoreditch music festival in Shoreditch Park returns for a fifth outing and this year it has come over all autumn, bringing you the best new under-ground music alongside inspira-tional international acts. Given the fashionable East London location, it’s no surprise that this whippersnapper of a festi-val is branded as one for ‘styl-ish bands, stylish fans and stylish sounds’. Perhaps the least cor-porate music festival you’ll get all summer, the 1-2-3-4 will no doubt throw up a bevy of ‘heard-them-here-first’ bands alongside (in equal measure) many ‘will-never-hear-of-again’ offerings. After the live music comes to an ever so cool close in the park the fun moves on to some nearby venues, usually including Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, Electric-ity Showrooms, Bar Music Hall, Queen Of Hoxton, Old Blue Last, The Joiners Arms and Mother. Last year tickets cost a mere £22.50 and your festival wrist-band got you into all the after parties for free, working out as a damn good deal. We’re look-ing forward to another night of autumn mayhem.
1st - 18th
portobello Film Festival1st - 18th September 2012 (Provisional dates)Westbourne Studios, Ladbroke Grove, London W10 5JJCreated in 1996 as a reaction to the state of the British Film industry, the Portobello Film Festival aims to provide a plat-form for new exciting film-makers and to give daring and ground-breaking directors a chance to get their films seen. The festival hasn’t had an easy ride and has even found itself without a cinema screen at times - but screenings in parks,
theatres, clubs and bars have all added to the diverse nature of the event. With annual pre-mieres of shorts, documentaries and animations and lots of talks and workshops with top film directors the Portobello Film Festival is a must for any film fanatic’s diary.
2nd
sky Ride2nd September 2012 (Provisional)Throughout LondonMajor roads in the city are closed to traffic for the Mayor of London’s Skyride, formerly known as London Freewheel. It’s a day when everyone can enjoy the city on two wheels as major roads along the 15km route are closed to cars. Arteries like the Victoria Embankment will be free from the usual hum of traffic as up to 50,000 pedalling enthu-siasts take to the roads. Sign up and you can cycle along the Thames taking in some stun-ning London landmarks in the City including St Paul’s Cathe-dral. Details are yet to be con-firmed but, judging by last year, there’ll be a festival atmosphere with music, cycling angels and jugglers.
6th - 8th
worlds together 6th - 8th September 2012Tate Modern, Bankside, Lon-don SE1 9TGWorlds Together is an ambitious project aimed at exploring the
8th
Last night of the promsSaturday 8th September 2012 Royal Albert Hall, London SW7 2AP
The world famous last night of the proms at the Royal Albert Hall brings the terrific summer season of The Proms (see also: The Proms – Royal Albert Hall
– 13th July – 8th September 2012 .page 98 ) to a fitting finale. Described by conductor Jiri Belohlavek as “the world’s largest and most democratic musical festival”, the much-loved classi-cal celebration now encompasses more than 100 concerts each year. The Last Night is traditionally very different from the eight weeks that precede it, following a lighter, ‘winding-down’ vein and often pandering to popular classics and Patriotic Anthems (Rule, Britannia!, anyone?). Tickets are almost as hard to come by as Centre Court passes for the Wimbledon finals, but like the tennis, the whole thing is broadcast live on the BBC - and all round the world. Plus there’s the simultane-ous Proms in the Park party, usually hosted by Terry Wogan.
Revellers get into the groove at the 1-2-3-4 Shoreditch festival
Rule Britannia: out come the flags at the Last Night of the Proms
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NEWHAM
REDBRIDGEHARINGEYBARNET
BRENT
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HOUNSLOW
WANDSWORTH
KENSINGTON& CHELSEA
WESTMINSTER
CAMDEN
Wembley
Harrow
Northolt
Ealing
Hounslow
Twickenham
Teddington
Kingston
Surbiton
Acton
Hampstead
St John’sWood
CamdenTown
Walthamstow
Manor Park
WestHamStratford
East HamBarking
Ilford
Shoreditch
Hackney
Marylebone
Chelsea
FulhamBattersea
Clapham
Tooting
Wimbledon
Mitcham
Morden
Croydon
Beckenham
Bromley
Orpington
Catford
Richmond Dulwich
Lewisham Eltham
Greenwich
ISLINGTONHACKNEY
TOWERHAMLETS
CITY
LAMBETH
SOUTHWARK
LEWISHAMRICHMOND UPON THAMES
KINGSTONUPON
THAMES
MERTON
SUTTON CROYDONBROMLEY
HARROW
HAMMERSMITH& FULHAM
london events
what’s on wheRe in septeMBeR
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01 adelphi Theatre Page 20
02 almeida Theatre Page 114
03 bank of england museum Page 127
04 barbican centre Pages 112 & 126
05 blackfriars bridge Page 124
06 british museum Pages 20, 55 & 79
07 buckingham Palace Pages 54 & 82
08 chelsea old Town hall Page 126
09 design museum Page 98
10 dulwich Picture gallery Page 79
11 earls court exhib. ctr. Page 126
12 guildhall Page 127
13 ham Page 125
14 hammersmith apollo Page 127
15 hampstead heath Page 124
16 kensington gardens Page 58
17 London Jewish centre Page 124
18 London olympic Park Pages 54 & 114
19 national gallery Page 97
20 national maritime msm. Page 38
21 national Portrait gallery Pages 59 & 79
22 national: cottesloe Thtr. Page 100
23 open air regent’s Park Page 60
24 richmond Park Page 124
25 royal albert hall Pages 98, 123 & 126
26 royal opera house Page 126
27 serpentine gallery Pages 74 & 79
28 shakespeare’s globe Pages 33 & 127
29 shoreditch Park Page 123
30 sir John soane’s museum Page 96
31 somerset house Page 125
32 southbank centre Pages 58 & 74
33 Tate britain Pages 80, 100 & 125
33
34 Tate modern Pages 33, 82, 99 & 123
35 The o2 arena Pages 125 & 127
37 Tower bridge Page 126
38 Trafalgar square Page 79
39 v&a museum Pages 60 & 125
40 victoria Park Page 123
41 Westbourne studios Page 123
42 Whitehall Page 125
43 Wembley Page 127
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9th - 16th
tour of Britain 9th - 16th September 2012 The Mall, London SW1Y 5AHThe UK’s biggest professional cycling race, the Tour hits the roads of Britain for nine days of two-wheeled action offering spectators a chance to see first hand the pedal power of Olym-pic medallists fresh from the Games. The 2012 race will be the ninth edition and runs through-out England, Scotland and Wales over the eight days, usually cul-minating with a final stage finish on The Mall in front of Bucking-ham Palace. Now an established highlight of the British sporting year, the race is Britain’s largest free-to-watch live sporting event. Last year, Britain’s Mark Caven-dish won the final bunch sprint in London – just days before becoming World Champion in Copenhagen.
From 12th
pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde12th September 2012 - 13th January 2013Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RGThe Pre-Raphaelites were the rebels of the mid-nineteenth cen-tury, a collection of avant-garde artists who overturned ortho-doxy and set the tone for modern
art. Opposed to the triviality rep-resented by the Royal Acade-my’s tastes, they were inspired predominantly by John Ruskin’s theories of nature, realism and religion, love and death. The Tate has now brought together a collection of over 150 pieces of art showcasing the very best of the Pre-Raphaelite move-ment. Paintings, sculpture, pho-tography and applied arts will sit alongside rare masterpieces including Ford Madox Brown’s controversial Work 1852-1865. Don’t miss this unique chance to view work from Britain’s original modern art movement.
14th - 18th
London Fashion week14th - 18th September 2012Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LAThis September London Fash-ion Week will once again inject a burst of style into Somerset House; the iconic building with its famous courtyard is a mag-ical setting for this high pro-file fashion industry event. The week features 200 of the indus-try’s most creative designers and businesses, in the UK and inter-nationally, with catwalk shows, exhibitions and award ceremo-nies. It’s all wildly exclusive, of course, and if you don’t have any connections with the fash-ion industry there’s no chance
of acquiring tickets to the main event, however the whole capi-tal will no doubt be bustling with fashion fever and the streets could become your very own catwalk.
14th - 16th
empire presents… Big screen14th - 16th September 2012The O2 Arena, Greenwich, London SE10 0BBFollowing its debut in 2011, Empire’s Big Screen is return-ing for another movie extrava-ganza. Spread across three days, this is a chance for all movie lovers to experience exclusive footage of upcoming blockbust-ers and full length movie pre-views. On top of this, there will also be discussions with A-list stars, live entertainment in the O2’s FX arena and movie mas-ter classes. Audiences in 2011 were treated to footage from major films including The Amaz-ing Spider-Man, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Dan-iel Craig, Guy Ritchie and Ste-ven Spielberg were among the stars that dropped by for the shows. Visitors will also have the chance to see original props, costumes and memorabilia - dif-ferent ticket packages are avail-able depending on how much you want to see.
15th - 23rd
London design Festival15th - 23rd September 2012Various locations throughout LondonThe London Design Festival is an ambitious project. Hundreds of events, locations, shops, uni-versities and design agencies are involved in the nine days of talks, exhibitions, competitions and activities. It’s a true celebra-tion of the capital’s all-encom-passing design industry, taking in sectors as diverse as fashion, architecture, retail, typography, photography, textiles, interior decoration and manufacturing. There’s a huge amount to see but don’t be put off by the vol-ume: inclusion here is based on the quality of the design. Events come in all shapes and sizes from product launches in tiny bou-tiques to massive trade shows. Details have yet to be released but, judging by what we’ve seen in years gone by, the programme is likely to centre on hubs at the Southbank Centre, the V & A and St Paul’s Cathedral. The scope is far-reaching and you’ll be hard pressed to cover all of it but it’s fun trying. Check the offi-cial website for full details.
15th
the Great River RaceSaturday 15th September 2012 Ham, London TW10 7RSRegarded as the rowing equiv-alent of the London Marathon, the Great River Race is bursting with colour, spectacle, intense competition and casual fun. Due to tides, the 2012 race will be run upstream for the fifth suc-cessive year, starting at Millwall Slipway in London’s Docklands The London Design Festival includes some of designer Karl Lagerfeld’s limited-edition Diet Coke bottles
Rebels with a cause: the Pre-Raphaelites at Tate Britain
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importance of arts in young peo-ple’s lives. The London based conference will combine the efforts and resources of the Tate Modern, the British Museum, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. This mass collaboration draws on every medium of art from dig-ital technologies to Shakespeare and takes a particular inter-est in new emerging art forms and practices. The three-day event will provide a platform for teachers, artists and profession-als to come together to discuss the way different artistic disci-plines affect young people’s cul-tural experience. The forum will be held in the Tate’s brand new Oil Tanks. and is part of both the Unilever Series and the Lon-don 2012 Festival’s World Shake-speare Festival. Visit the Tate website to book your ticket, as spaces are limited and demand will no doubt be high.
8th - 9th
Mayor’s thames Festival8th – 9th September 2012 Blackfriars Bridge, London EC4V 3QRThe Mayor’s Thames Festival takes place in September each year celebrating the main water-way which winds its way through the heart of the city. This year the festival is taking place on the closing weekend of the Lon-don 2012 Paralympic Games; so expect big crowds and a euphoric atmosphere. There’s a carnival ambience to the two-day event with street entertainment, art installations, music and dancing all performed at vari-ous riverside locations between Westminster Bridge, Tower Bridge and beyond. All this fun entertainment is free and, for the grand finale, there’s a colour-ful night procession featuring
costumed performers with tam-bourines and whistles travel-ling along Victoria Embankment and via Blackfriars Bridge, cul-minating in a massive fireworks display, with more than a ton of pyrotechnics exploding over the River Thames in just ten min-utes. Large crowds line up along the river for the fireworks dis-play but with the stretch from the two barges between Black-friars and Waterloo Bridge span-ning almost half a kilometre, there’s plenty of opportunity to find a space.
9th
Generations walkSunday 9th September 2012Hampstead Heath, London NW3 7JRRaising both money and aware-ness for Breast Cancer, the Gen-erations Walk returns for 2012, having raised £35,000 last year. The grand total raised from the annual charity walk has now reached over £300,000 and this year the event will be supporting a new project, one which aims to develop new drugs to overcome resistance to chemotherapy. Chemotherapy allows 60% of patients to return to work and is a challenging but vital treatment for many breast cancer patients - the money raised by walkers will be put towards the research for this project. The walk will be 5 kilometres across Hampstead Heath and will finish with a pic-nic lunch for all participants.
9th - 11th
hampstead & highgate Literary Festival9th – 11th September 2012
London Jewish Cultural Cen-tre, Ivy House, London NW11 7SXOrganised and hosted by the London Jewish Cultural Centre, this festival has quickly become a much loved event in London’s literary calendar since launch-ing back in 2009. Book lov-ers arrived in their thousands last year to join in with creative workshops and to hear from some of the literary world’s lead-ing figures. Sarah Brown, Esther Freud, Raymond Blanc, Peter Snow, Diana Athill, Nicholas Par-sons and Alan Hollinghurst were all among the names that made an appearance in 2011. Held in the former home of prima bal-lerina Anna Pavlova in a pictur-esque part of north London, the three-day event is certain to get those creative juices flowing.
9th
London duathlonSunday 9th September 2012 Richmond Park, London TW10 The world’s biggest duathlon returns to Richmond Park as athletes prime themselves to run, bike and run a little bit more on closed roads around this area of outstanding natural beauty. This double-discipline endur-ance test is split into three cat-egories and is ideal for sporty types (17 years or above) who fancy doing a triathlon but are put off by the cold water of the Thames! While 50% of the 3,500 entrants are competing for the very first time, top athletes will also be able to take part in sepa-rate elite and junior elite sprint races. Those wishing to race must apply by late August and pay an entrance fee. London Fashion Week: models hit the Royal Opera House catwalk
Celebrating our great river at the Mayor’s Thames Festival
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most loved roles you can expect comedy, cruelty and plenty of cross-dressing in this bitter-sweet production about two teams battling within the house of Olivia. On one hand, the love-sick lord Orsino plots against the heart of indifferent Olivia. On the other, a vexed alliance of ser-vants scheme against her stew-ard Malvolio. With traditional Shakespearean costume, music and dance this production at the Globe promises to transport you right back to 1601.
22nd & 23rd
London open house weekend22nd – 23rd September 2012 Various venues across London So many of London’s architec-tural landmarks are closely guarded secrets, off-limits to Joe Public. It’s tantalising to imagine what goes on behind those closed doors. Well, thanks to the hugely popular London Open House Weekend, we need wonder no more. Almost 700 of the city’s buildings - including the Bank of England - take part in this fan-tastic, free annual event, now in its 19th year, by opening their doors to everyone. The popular event offers a wealth of histor-ical landmarks to choose from including some of the most beau-tiful architectural achievements in the city. You can also get inside
some of the grandest private homes in your own neighbour-hood - it’s a voyeur’s dream come true. For the more serious stu-dents of contemporary design, this is a chance to visit spaces by famous modern architects. An inspired idea and a real treat whether you’re a lover of archi-tecture or just plain nosy. Entry to some of the houses is only per-mitted via pre-booked tickets on the official website.
From 24th
the Ring Cycle24th September - 2nd November 2012Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD
The Royal Opera season opens with the complete Ring Cycle in 2012, a spectacular revival of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelun-gen. The monumental scale of the production is matched with Wagner’s epic musical score in a rich tale of ancient sagas, drag-ons, dwarfs and water nymphs. The full Ring Cycle was last brought to Covent Garden in 2007, now it returns using con-temporary themes of modern science to juxtapose the timeless mythology. A powerful score, stunning international cast and bold and vivid staging, should make this emotional and uplift-ing production a fitting curtain-raiser to the Royal Opera season.
From 26th
Michael Mcintyre26th September – 6th October 2012 The O2 Arena, Greenwich, London SE10 0DX28th November – 3rd DecemberWembley Arena, London HA9 0DHAfter releasing his autobiogra-phy followed by a stint as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, Michael McIntyre is returning to what he does best this year for a long-awaited tour, stopping by The O2 Arena for an impressive eight gigs this autumn. Hailed by audi-ences and critics alike as the best new stand-up to emerge in years, McIntyre is, according to The Telegraph, “quite simply, top-to-toe hilarious”. His trick is sim-ple: an infectious enthusiasm, a hilarious voice, some exemplary observation, a perfect delivery; on top of that, he seems a genu-inely nice chap.
28th - 30th
Kevin Bridges28th - 30th September 2012Hammersmith Apollo, London W6 9QHDubbed “the best Scottish stand-up since Billy Connolly”, Glas-wegian comic Kevin Bridges has added a third night to the Lon-don leg of his UK tour at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo due to high demand. The Per-rier-nominated young comedian who has become a firm fixture on TV panel shows thanks to his jet black humour from the heart of Glasgow has a 6 part BBC 1 series - ‘Kevin Bridges: What’s The Story’, confirming his pro-motion from ‘rising’ to ‘estab-lished’ star of British stand-up.
30th
pearly Kings and Queens harvest FestivalSunday 30th September 2012 Guildhall Yard, London EC2VWhat better way to celebrate the change of seasons than with Maypole dancing, Morris danc-ing and a marching band? Each year the Pearly Kings & Queens come together from every bor-ough of London to welcome the new season in style, and boy what a style they have, with extravagant Smother Suits cov-ered in sparkly buttons, badges and glitter. The festival starts in the afternoon at Guildhall Yard and continues with a parade to St Mary-le-Bow church for a Harvest Festival service at 3pm; harvest offerings are donated to the Whitechapel Mission.Gorilla Race: a banana in your pocket or just pleased to see me?
The annual Open House Weekend gives members of the public the chance to visit buildings like City Hall
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at 10.30am and finishing with a spectacular riverside party at Ham. The extensive 21-mile course takes crews from the industrial cityscape of Dock-lands all the way along the Thames to the idyllic semi-rural Richmond shores. Since launch-ing in 1987, entries have snow-balled from a mere 72 entrants to a massive 300 boats carrying over 2,000 competitors, racing for 35 trophies. Festivities along the river at Richmond will begin at noon with live music, a chil-dren’s beach, donkey rides and food and drink stalls.
19th - 23rd
Chelsea antiques Fair19th - 23rd September 2012Chelsea Old Town Hall, Lon-don SW3 5EEThe Chelsea Antiques Fair has been a popular annual fixture on
the Kings Road since 1950, cater-ing for all sorts of budgets – from £20 to tens of thousands. The antiques are presented against the gilded opulence of Chelsea Town Hall, with its marble col-umns, chandeliers and origi-nal oil paintings. The fair has 36 specialist dealers this year, and a quick browse will reveal 19th and early 20th century porcelain and pottery, fine gem set jewel-lery, oak furniture, silverware, Chinese antiquities, Art Deco furniture, fine maps and prints, Persian carpets and rare glass-ware and much, much more.
20th - 29th
Mademoiselle Julie20th – 29th September 2012 Barbican Theatre, London EC2Y 8DSThe naturalistic play Mademoi-selle Julie is one of Swedish play-wright August Strindberg’s most famous; this spring, the Barbi-can is presenting a modern ver-sion of the 1888 play. Starring Juliette Binoche and based on a battle between the sexes as a young woman encounters her father’s footman and has an ago-nising evening consisting of lust, sex, and lies, the performance aims to be intimate, emotional and engaging. The play will be performed in French with Eng-lish surtitles, and will be pre-dominantly based on a fight for
power between the lead male and female who differentiate in class, sex and values.
22nd
nada - Music of the divineSaturday 22nd September 2012Royal Albert Hall, South Kens-ington, London SW7 2AP Five of India’s most celebrated musicians come together at the Royal Albert Hall for a wonderful night of Music, Meditation and Healing. Nada is a South-Asian musical commemorating 25 years of the music of the divine. The famous five on the bill are Guinness World Record holder, Dr Yella Venkateswara Rao on the Mridangam, ‘Pele of Per-cussion’, Vaidyanathan Suresh on the Ghatam, respected com-poser Jaitra Varanasi on the violin, Sri Ganapathy Sachidan-anda Swamiji on the synthesiser and Dr Natesa Ramani on the flute. Whether you’re interested in spiritual well being or you just enjoy Asian music then this could be just the night for you.
22nd - 23rd
the Cake and Bake show22nd – 23rd September 2012Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London SW5 9TAThe Cake and Bake Show has all the ingredients needed for
a delicious day out. With new celebrity chefs and baking shows constantly bursting onto the scene, baking has become more popular than ever. Embrac-ing the rise in popularity, Earls Court will be hosting the first live event dedicated to the world of cakes, breads and the art of bak-ing. The day will offer an array of tempting and tasty features including: Sugarcraft Showcase, icing demonstrations and classes from the country’s top cake art-ists; Chocolate Unwrapped, a sweet tooth’s heaven with choc-olate tastings and demos; and The Science Lab, expert advice that looks at the techniques of many cake conundrums. There will also be an English Tea Room offering tea and cakes to sup-port the Macmillan Cancer Sup-port team.
22nd
Great Gorilla RunSaturday 22nd September 2012 Tower Bridge, London SE1 2UPThere’s some serious monkey business going on this Septem-ber; back for its 10th year the Great Gorilla Run will be bound-ing through the streets of the capital. Aiming to raise money to save the world’s remaining gorillas, hundreds of people will be pulling on their gorilla cos-tumes and running, jogging or walking the 7km City and Bank-side route. Expect to see many humorously adapted costumes, including cheerleading gorillas prancing across Tower Bridge and ballerina gorillas perfecting their poise by the Tate Modern. Runners hoping to participate need to pay a registration fee of £80 which can be done through The Gorilla Organisation website (a gorilla costume is included!).
From 22nd
twelfth night22nd September - 14th October 2012Shakespeare’s Globe, Bank-side, London SE1 9DTOnce again The Globe welcomes back the award-winning Twelfth Night with an all-male Origi-nal Practices production from 2002. Mark Rylance steps back into the shoes of Olivia nearly ten years after the show’s origi-nal premiere. With a celebrated cast in some of Shakespeare’s
The Great River Race features 300 boats carrying over 2,000 competitors and racing for 35 trophies
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Should Boris silence the dissenting riff-raff in time for the whiff-whaff, then visi-tors to the greatest sporting show on earth will have even more reason to be wowed by what London has to offer.
Essentially, the cable car will link the North Greenwich Arena, which hosts the London 2012 gymnastic, trampoline and basketball events, to the ExCel Centre, home to the Olympic boxing, fencing, table tennis, martial arts and wrestling events, plus a whole host of Paralympic events.
The cable car – similar to New York’s Roosevelt Island Tramway, the Cologne Cable Car and the Caracas Aerial Tram-way – will also help link both the Tube and London River Services to the Docklands
Light Railway. It will transport an esti-mated 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction (the equivalent of 50 buses) and be accessible with an ever-trusty Oyster Card.
But the Emirates Air-Line will be so much more than a mere method of trans-portation – it will become an attraction in its own right.
As high as the tallest part of the for-mer Millennium Dome, the cable car proj-ect should in the years to come be as much a part of London’s fabled skyline as, say, the London Eye, another airline-sponsored means of leisurely transportation.
Every 30 seconds a gondola will take passengers soaring above the Thames, opening up unprecedented views over the Olympic Park, London Docklands, Canary Wharf and the centre of London beyond.
Cost concerns aside, Londoners should be proud that such a project is taking place in their city. And while Transport for Lon-don is playing it safe by claiming that the cable car is not part of the Olympic Trans-port Plan and so does not need to be ready in time for the Games, the route already appears on new tube maps as part of the current network under construction.
If Boris can pull this one off and the Emirates Air-Line is ready in time for the Olympic Opening Ceremony on 27th July 2012 then it could well be one of his biggest achievements. Regardless of its comple-tion date, the Thames cable car will be an extraordinary legacy to London.
The Thames cable car will be called the Emirates Air-Line following a sponsorship deal
An artist’s impression of how the £60m Emirates Air-Line will look once it’s completed
It remains to be seen if the cable car will be ready in time for the Olympics this summer
“The cable car should have a similar impact on the city’s skyline as the London Eye”
One race that looks like it will go down to the wire before the London Olympics have even begun is Mayor Boris Johnson’s bid to link
both sides of the Thames by cable car.The logistics of such an ambitious proj-
ect have proved rather a marathon, pep-pered with many obstacles en route, not to mention false starts; and while the vast majority of the Olympic infrastructure has been completed well ahead of sched-ule, this is one scheme destined for a sprint finish.
On paper, the idea is brilliant: connect the area around The O2 Arena on Green-wich Peninsula to the Royal Docks near the ExCeL Centre on the other side of the Thames; not by a run-of-the-mill bridge or tunnel, but by a futuristic cable car which will not only underline London as a city of ground-breaking and innovative archi-tecture, but also provide passengers with some of the most striking aerial views of the Olympic Park and city.
Of course, in practice things have proven rather more difficult. An initial expected outlay of £35m has nearly dou-bled to an estimated £60m – making it the most expensive cable car system ever built. This threw a major spanner in the
works for Boris, who had always promised no public funding would be needed for the project.
One of the reasons for the spiral-ling costs was an underestimation of the amount needed for legal advice, project management and land acquisition. After all, with City Airport so nearby, this will be the only cable car system in the world to cut through an airport’s “Crash Zone”.
It’s just as well Emirates have stepped onboard as the cable car’s sponsor: the Dubai-based air carrier will cover £36m of the total costs on an initial 10-year spon-sorship deal that will see the Thames gon-dola link officially called the Emirates Air Line (see what they’ve done there?).
Although the scheme was announced in July 2010, construction only got under-way last August – prompting fears that the project would not be completed until after the Olympic Games.
“Gondolas will transport an estimated 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction”
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the thaMes CaBLe CaRsixty-metre-high emirates air-Line will provide crossings across the
river every 30 seconds. By Felix Lowe
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