Episode 54: The Festival of Britain

What was the Festival of Britain and was it a success?

Hear how the festival planted the seeds for optimism in post war Britain and how Londoners are still benefiting from its legacy.

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Show notes:

Hello, and welcome to our London history podcast, where we share our love of London, its people, places and history. This podcast is designed for you to learn things about London that most Londoners don't even know. All in 20 minutes. I am your host, Hazel Baker, a qualified London tour guide and CEO of London Guided Walks.

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  • March 1948 - Festival of Britain Office was established
  • 3 May 1951 - Opening of the Festival Hall
  • 4 May 1951 - Official opening of the Festival of Britain
  • September -1951 End of the Festival of Britain


Films featuring the Festival of Britain

The Happy Family 

This comedy film centres on popular resistance to the destruction of the festival site after the closure of the exhibition.

Prick Up Your Ears, 1987 

The Festival of Britain is featured in the early sections of the film, providing the backdrop to post-war literary and performance culture.

Other Episodes

053 Benjamin Franklin in London

052 St George's Day

051 Walk Through London's Forgotten Places

050 History of Shoreditch

049 Myths of Regency Dress

048 Leper Houses in London

047 Victorian Dinosaurs in Crystal Palace Park

046 Beer, The Bard & Historic Buildings of Bankside

045 Drawing London's Buildings

044 Tudor London & John Stow

043 London Fog

042 John Julius Angerstein: The Man Behind the National Gallery

041 London's Medieval Friaries

040 Charles Dickens in Greenwich

039 London's Frost Fairs

038 The Black Death: London's First Plague

037 Bridgerton & Regency London

036 Brexit in the City

035 A Tudor Christmas

034 London's Old Shops - Food & Drink

033 London's Pillar Boxes

032 Medieval Guilds

031 Abandoned London Underground Stations

030 Quirky Street Names - Little Britain

029 The Harp maker of Fitzrovia

028 The Ghost of Cock Lane

027 The South Sea Bubble

026 The Seven Noses of Soho

025 The British Museum

024 The Walbrook in Roman London

023 London's Historic Pubs

022 The Havering Hoard

021 London Area Names - Animal Edition

020 The Great Fire of London - How It Began

019 London Coffeehouses

018 Victorian Photography

017 The Proms & The Royal Albert Hall

016 Women in 1920s London (From Cowgirl to Congress)

015 Movies Filmed in London

014 Postcards From London's Past

013 London Statues: Medical Women

012 The Old Operating Theatre Museum

011 London's Coffeehouses and Commerce

010 London's Folklore

009 Music Halls and Cabaret - from yesterday to today

008 The Monument to the Great Fire of London

007 True London Spy Stories

006 Hockley in the Hole Clerkenwell

005 The Dragons of London

004 The Crown Jewels

003 Childhood Foods

002 Fantastic Beasts in London

001 An Introduction to Roman London

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