Southbank will be buzzing tomorrow as Overture Weekend begins, a prelude celebration to Monday’s grand re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall, which has been closed for the past two years. The weekend festivities lead up to a series of kickoff performances that starts with a four orchestra extravaganza on June 11.
The Royal Festival Hall opened in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain. It is one of the world’s leading performance venues, presenting concerts by the finest international orchestras, operas, and a wide variety of music events, from jazz to rock to pop. The Guardian has a nice series of yesterday and today photos of the transformed complex, including the photo shown here.
This refurbishment is part of a larger overhaul of the entire Southbank Center area, which stretches from County Hall to Waterloo Bridge and along the Queen’s Walk by the river Thames.