THE MILLENNIUM DOME

" ONE AMAZING DAY "

I visited the Dome on Monday 3rd January and was very impressed by this fine example of British design and invention. I live in Greenwich and was grateful for the opportunity to visit free with my 2 young kids aged 6 and 8. My kids had a great day out and loved the whole experience; the concept of teaching kids about the environment and the future in a fun way is fabulous. 

Why did the media have to knock and try to demolish something that we should have been proud of. The original concept was all about regenerating this former Gas works and rundown area of South-East London. I decided to do my bit in defence of the Dome and write this page because I was angry at the media criticism which I felt was unfair after seeing the Dome for myself.

People all around the world and Britain have flocked to see the Dome bringing lots of much needed revenue from tourism into London. It cost approximately £700 million to build from a mixture of lottery, private sponsorship funds and entrance fees - not from taxpayers' funds intended for the N.H.S. etc as many critics allege. Money well spent !  Lets have more courageous innovation from the powers that be. The Dome is a beacon of the new millennium positive thinking.

COMMENTS - by people who have visited the Dome :

Tony Blair said: "It was a great idea and it will be a great success. People who count, the paying customers have been overwhelmingly positive and they are the ones who will decide."

"It's definitely worth the money and there's plenty to look at. It's mind-boggling"

"There has been a lot of adverse criticism of this project but one has to admit that the construction design and scale is impressive"

"It's very impressive and ultra-modern. The Body Zone made me feel emotional."

An I.T.N. poll of people actually visiting the Dome recorded that 91% felt it was a worthwhile visit (6th January 2000).

DOME FACTS :

The Dome is the largest such structure in the world, over 50 metres high and 320 metres in diameter. The Exhibition will take place on a 130 acre site on the Greenwich peninsular with a ground floor of over 80,000 m and has a circumference of one kilometre.

The people behind the construction are exhibition designers Imagination, architects Richard Rogers Partnership and engineers Buro Happold.

It is suspended from a series of twelve 100m steel masts (weight 50 tonnes each) and held in place by more than 70km of high strength cable.

The dome is made from a translucent weather proof fabric and will be able to accommodate 40.000 visitors.

Approximately 6 million visitors paid to visit the Millennium Exhibition in the Year 2000.

More than 5000 people were employed in running and managing the exhibition.

WHAT'S INSIDE THE DOME :

The Millennium Dome holds 14 themed exhibition zones:

Work, Learning, Money, Body (take a journey through the world's largest representation of the human body!), Play, Journey, Shared Ground (communities), Living Island (a look at the UK's environment), Home Planet (global travel), Talk (communication and the future), Faith (and Belief), Rest, Mind, Self Portrait (UK people and places), a specially produced Black Adder comedy film and The Millennium Show; billed as 'a sensational, choreographed carnival of music, stunning visual effects and daring aerial acrobatics'

Click on Image below to take a tour of the 14 Zones:

DOME CAM - click below to see it live:

THE DOME LIVES ON :

The Millennium Dome is to be turned a multi-million pound Concert Venue with hundreds of new houses built near the site. The Dome's change of fate could create thousands of new jobs. It appears that the original objective of urban regeneration has been realised despite all the criticism.

LONDON LINKS

(Click above for info. about Accommodation/Travel/Maps etc)

Back to Taff's Homepage