The Millennium Dome is a large dome that was constructed on the Greenwich peninsula in London. The project was financed by the UK government to celebrate the arrival of the 3rd millennium AD.
During 2000 the Dome contained a large number of attractions and exhibits, but these were dismantled at the end of the year. Its exterior is reminiscent of the dome built for the Festival of Britain in 1951.
The Dome is now closed to the public. It is still of interest to the press, as the government are trying to dispose of the site to property developers.
The Engineering
If we leave the political and financial failings of the project aside for a moment, the Dome is an impressive structure. Externally it appears as a large, brilliant white marquee with twelve 100m-high yellow-painted support towers. It has become one of England's most easily recognised, if not best loved, landmarks. It can easily be seen on aerial photographs of London, including the title sequence of the popular soap-opera Eastenders.
The canopy is made of PTFE, a highly durable and weather-resistant plastic. Its symmetry is interrupted by a hole through which a ventilation shaft from the Blackwall Tunnel rises.
Apart from the Dome itself, the project included the reclamation of the entire Greenwich peninsula. The land was previously derelict and unusable, having been contaminated by toxic sludge from an earlier gasworks. The clean-up operation was seen by the deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine as an investment that would add a large area of useful land to the crowded capital. This was part of a larger plan to regenerate a large empty area to the east of London and south of the Thames.
The Politics
The project was largely perceived by the press to have been a flop: badly thought-out, badly executed, and leaving the government with the embarassing question of what to do with it afterwards. Part of the problem was that the financial predictions were based on unrealistically high visitor numbers. During 2001 the organisers repeatedly had to ask for more cash from the government.
The other major problem was that, having inherited a grandiose project for a Festival of Britain or World's Fair-type showcase from the previous Tory government, the organisers of the project did not in fact have much of an idea of what to place in it for the public to see. The result was a disjoint assemblage of thinly-veiled corporate-sponsored promotions, burger stalls, and lacklustre museum-style exhibits that were so weak as to appear almost as parodies.
The central stage show had music by Peter Gabriel and an acrobatic cast of 160. A specially commissioned Blackadder film was shown throughout the year in a separate cinema on the site. At least these features escaped the criticism that was heaped on the rest of the project.
Chronology of the Project
- 1994 - Millennium Commission established by Prime Minister John Major and handed over to deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine.
- January 1996 - Greenwich site selected. Birmingham, Derby and Stratford had been considered as alternatives.
- December 1996 - Government decides to support the project with public money after being unable to raise private capital.
- January 1997 - New Prime Minister Tony Blair decides to continue the project, although his cabinet is not unanimous.
- June 20 1997 - Peter Mandelson put in charge of the New Millennium Experience Company.
- December 23 1998 - Peter Mandelson resigns from government after a financial scandal.
- January 4 1999 - Lord Falconer replaces Mandelson.
- May 1999 - Underground rail link to the Dome opens.
- June 22 1999 - Structure of Dome completed.
- December 31 1999 & January 1 2000 - Opening night is a disaster, as VIP guests are kept waiting outside for hours because of a ticketing problem.
- January 1 2000 - Dome opens to public.
- August 1 2000 - Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee publishes adverse report on Dome's management.
- September 25 2000 - Michael Heseltine, the Dome's original sponsor, admits that it was a bad idea.
- November 7 2000 - Thieves break in to the diamond exhibit during opening hours but are foiled by waiting police.
- November 9 2000 - National Audit Office publishes report blaming unrealistic attendance targets for the Dome's financial problems.
- December 31 2000 - Dome closed to the public, having attracted just over six million visitors. The initial projected figure was twelve million.
- 2002 Site sold to Meridian Delta Limited, who plan to turn it into a 20,000-seat sports and entertainment venue. Houses will be built on surrounding land.
- February 18 2002 - Four men jailed for the attempted diamond robbery in 2001.
- 2004 Scheduled opening date for refurbished Dome.