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  • Royal Albert Hall Tours

  • Until Aug 31 2010
  • Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP
  • Royal Albert Hall

  • By Sara O’Reilly

    Posted: Mon Feb 19 2007

  • The Royal Albert Hall was designed not by architects but by a couple of engineers, Captain Francis Fowke and Major General HY Darracott, who drew their inspiration from Roman amphitheatres. There was a trial run in Manchester for the assembly of the steel framework to support the glass for the great dome and then the whole thing was taken apart and transported to London by horse and cart. At the opening on March 29 1871, Queen Victoria was so moved to see her beloved husband’s grand plan finally come to fruition (ten years after his death) that she was unable to speak and Edward, Prince of Wales, had to announce to the assembled great and good that mum declared the hall open.

    At the inaugural concert, the venue’s notorious echo became immediately apparent. But despite the acoustic problems, which were finally addressed in 1969 when the rather beautiful fibreglass mushrooms were installed in the roof, the Royal Albert Hall has hosted an impressive catalogue of concerts, most famously, every summer since 1941, the Proms, which culminate each year in the polite British frenzy of the Last Night of the Proms. In 1963, The Beatles and the Stones performed on the same bill; 1969 saw concerts by both Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. In 1970 Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, who may or may not have been an item at the time, performed a concert featuring a number of duets as well as singing their own solo songs.

    In between the concerts the Royal Albert Hall has hosted, among other events, the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, at which Cliff Richard’s ‘Congratulations’ was pipped at the post by a single vote; the 1969-1988 Miss World beauty pageants; a marathon; a sumo wrestling tournament and the super-slick circus Cirque du Soleil. Each autumn the Schools Proms take place there – three nights of concerts at which thousands of talented musicians aged between five and 18 demonstrate what great things can be achieved in schools lucky enough to have an individual with a passion for music on the staff.

    If you’re in the market to hire a good-sized venue (the largest crowd ever accommodated at the Royal Albert Hall numbered 7,500, though today health and safety rules mean that you’re limited to 5,900), you’re looking at upwards of £15,000. But each year a different charity is given the opportunity to use the venue for a fundraising event, free of charge.

    Regular guided tours of the vast oval hall last around 45 minutes. You get a chance to witness technical preparations and rehearsals for the evening’s performance as well as visiting the auditorium , the Royal Retiring Room and the Queen’s Box, which she actually owns. It was bought originally by Queen Victoria and it’s twice the size of the rest of the boxes, with room for 20 people. There’s also a DVD presentation about the some of the performances hosted there.

    On Monday, a special one-off tour will offer a more in-depth exploration of the place. As well as learning about the history of the hall and discovering what it takes to transform the building into a big top, a sporting arena or a rock venue,visitors will see the auditorium set up for the current production of ‘Madam Butterfly’ from the ‘bullruns’ (the wings) and get a chance to investigate the wardrobe areas and the dressing rooms where celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Meat Loaf have painted their faces and prepared to meet their public.

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I am a fairly active person, love socialising, shopping, entertaining. I like to look after myself and eat the best food and good wines. I am a...

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