South Bank
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Missing image NationalTheatre_London.jpg The National Theatre is one of the collection of arts buildings that make up the South Bank Centre. The London Television Centre tower can be glimpsed at left. |
Missing image SouthBankCentre02.jpg The Brutalism style of the National Theatre has always been an obstacle, preventing the general public from embracing the building. |
Missing image South.bank.london.eye.arp.750pix.jpg The British Airways London Eye on the South Bank |
- (This article is about the area of London called "South Bank". For the similarly named areas: in Brisbane, please see South Bank Parklands, Brisbane; or in Melbourne, see Southbank, Victoria)
The South Bank is the area in London on the southern bank of the River Thames near Waterloo station that houses a number of important cultural buildings/institutions. It was the site of the 1951 Festival of Britain, for which the Royal Festival Hall, now part of the South Bank Centre arts complex, was built. The area is split between the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark.
Since then, the Queen Elizabeth Hall was opened in 1967, the Hayward Gallery in 1968, and the National Theatre in 1976. Nearby is the National Film Theatre (NFT). Adjacent to the NT is the distinctive white tower of the London Weekend Television (LWT) building, where (among other things) the long-running television Arts programme The South Bank Show is produced. Carlton Television and GMTV have also broadcast from the building since 1993, and it is now called the London Television Centre.
To the west of the RFH, beyond the railway viaduct leading up to Hungerford Bridge, is a public open space, Jubilee Gardens, separating it from nearby County Hall. By County Hall is the large observation wheel built to celebrate the 2000 Millennium, the London Eye.
Further to the east is the Tate Modern art gallery. Past that on Bankside is the reproduction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
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