The Millennium Dome , also referred to simply as The Dome , is the original name of the large dome-shaped building, originally used for the Millennium Experience , a large exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium. Located on the Greenwich Peninsula in south-east London, this exhibition was opened to the public from 1 January to 31 December 2000. The project and exhibition became a major political controversy for failing to attract the number of anticipated visitors, with recurring financial problems. All original exhibits and related complexes have been destroyed. The dome is still there, and is now the main exterior feature of The O2. The Prime Meridian passes the western end of the Dome and the closest London Underground station is North Greenwich on the Jubilee line.
Video Millennium Dome
Construction
The dome is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Externally, it appears as a large white tent with twelve towers supporting 100 m of high yellow, one for every month of the year, or every hour of the face clock, representing the role played by Greenwich Mean Time. In view of the plan it is circular, 365 m (one meter for each day of the standard year) in diameter. It has become one of the most recognizable landmarks in the UK. This can be easily seen in London's aerial photos. The exterior is reminiscent of the Dome of Discovery built for the British Festival in 1951.
The architect is Richard Rogers and the contractor is a joint venture, McAlpine/Laing Joint Venture (MLJV) formed between Sir Robert McAlpine and Laing Management. The structure of the building was engineered by Buro Happold, and the overall roof structure weighed less than the air contained in the building. Although referred to as the dome it is not entirely one because it is not independent, but in fact, the Big Top giant, the canopy supported by a dome-shaped cable network, of twelve columns of kings. For this reason, it has been underestimated to be called the Millennium Tent. Twelve posts represent twelve months of the year, another reference to time in its dimensions, in addition to its height and diameter.
The canopy is made of PTFE coated glass fiber cloth, durable and weatherproof plastic, and height 52 m in the middle - one meter for every week of the year. The symmetry is disturbed by the hole where the ventilation shaft of the Blackwall Tunnel rises.
Critics Jonathan Meades carefully mentions the Millennium Dome as a "Toxic Waste Museum", and apart from the dome itself, the project includes the reclamation of the entire Greenwich Peninsula. The land was previously displaced and contaminated by the toxic sludge from East Greenwich Gas Works which operated from 1889 to 1985. The purge operation was seen by Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine as an investment that would increase the area of ​​land useful for the crowded capital. It is billed as part of a larger plan to regenerate a large, sparsely populated area east of London and south of the Thames, an area originally called the East Thames Corridor but later marketed as the "Thames Gateway".
Maps Millennium Dome
Dome project background
The Dome Project was conceived, initially on a smaller scale, under the rule of Conservative John Major, as a British Exposition Festival or Fair-type World to celebrate the third millennium. Incoming Labor Government elected in 1997 under Tony Blair greatly expanded the size, scope and funding of the project. This is also a significantly increased expectation of what will be delivered. Just before its opening Blair claimed the Dome would be "a triumph of confidence over cynicism, bravery over blandness, mediocre superiority". In the words of the BBC's Robert Orchard correspondent, "The dome should be highlighted as the New Glitterer's achievements in the next electoral manifesto," but criticized in the 2001 Conservative Party manifesto as "shallow, anonymous and erratic" and lacking "a sense of English history or culture ".
However, before its opening, The Dome was criticized in denunciation of Iain Sinclair, Sorry Meniscus - Excursions to the Millennium Dome (Profile Book: London 1999, ISBNÃ, 1-86197-179-6), which accurately predicted the hype , political posture and ultimately disappointment. The post-exhibition plan is to transform The Dome into a soccer stadium that will last for 25 years: Charlton Athletic at one point considers the possibility of moving but opted to rebuild their own stadium. Fisher Athletic is a local team interested in moving to the Dome, but they are considered to have a fan base that is too small to make this feasible. The Dome is planned to take over the functions performed by the London Arena, after closing. This is the function that the O2 Arena is now working on.
Millennium Experience
After a private opening on the night of December 31, 1999, the Millennium Experience at the Dome was open to the public for the entire year 2000, and contained a large number of attractions and exhibitions.
Exhibition
The interior spaces are divided into 14 zones (with main designers of the zone):
Who we are:
- Body , sponsored by Boots, powered by L'OrÃÆ'Â al and Roche (Branson Cortes Architecture)
- Mind , sponsored by BAE Systems and Marconi (Office of Zaha Hadid)
- Faith consists of 5 sections: The History of Christianity, the Making of the Main Life Experience, How Do I Have to Live ?, Rainy Night (contemplated area designed by James Turrell) and Faith Festivals Calendar (Eva Jiricna Architects with Jasper Jacobs Associates)
- Self Portrait , sponsored by Marks & amp; Spencer (Caribiner with Lorenzo Apicella in Pentagram), sculpture design by Gerald Scarfe
What we do:
Where we live:
- Shared Land , made of recycled card sponsored by Camelot Group plc (WORK)
- Live Island (WORK)
- Home Planet , sponsored by British Airways and BAA plc (Park Avenue Productions)
Many Zones are considered lacking in content. The Zone of Travel, outlining the history and development of transportation, is one of the few people chosen for praise.
Surrounded by the zone is the show area in the center of the dome. With music composed by Peter Gabriel and acrobatic players of 160, the Millennium Dome Show is 999 times throughout the year. Throughout the year, special films assigned Blackadder: Back & amp; Forth is displayed on Skyscape (a separate cinema on a site sponsored by BSkyB). There is also a McDonald's
As well as above, the first series of Techno Games was filmed there and shown on BBC Two in the same year.
Other attractions
There are a number of other attractions both inside and outside The Dome. Inside the Dome there is a play area called Millennium Timekeeper (featuring Coggsley and Sprinx characters), The Millennium Coin Minting Press in conjunction with the Royal Mint, the 1951 British Bus Festival, and Millennium Star Jewels (focus of Millennium Diamond Robbery failed.) Outside Map of Millennium (height of thirteen meters), Childhood Cube, Searching Around (hidden installation), Greenwich Pavilion, Hanging Gardens in front of Dome, as well as numerous installations and other sculptures.
Financial and management issues
The project is largely reported by the press has failed: very poorly thought, executed, and left the government with embarrassing questions about what to do afterwards. During 2000, organizers repeatedly requested, and received, more cash from the Millennium Commission, Lottery agencies that supported it. Many changes in management and board levels, before and during the exhibition, are limited, if any, results. Jennifer Page was fired as chief executive of the New Millennium Experience Company just one month after the opening of the dome. Press reports suggested that Prime Minister Tony Blair personally placed a high priority to make Dome a success. But part of the problem is that financial predictions are based on an estimated number of unrealistic visitors at 12 million. Over the 12 months it opened, there were about 6.5 million visitors - far less than about 10 million visitors attending the British Festival, which runs from May to September only. The Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 held in Glasgow attracts over 12 million visitors who are open from May to October. Unlike the press, visitor feedback is very positive. It was the most popular tourist attraction in 2000, the second was the London Eye; third is Alton Towers, the first time in 1999.
According to the UK National Audit Office, the total cost of The Dome on the liquidation of the New Millennium Experience Company in 2002 was  £ 789 million, in which Ã,  £ 628 million was covered by a National Lottery grant and Ã, £ 189 million through sales. tickets etc. A surplus of Ã,  £ 25 million over fees means that full lottery grants are not required. However, the lottery money of £ 603 million is still more than 204 million pounds which exceeds the initial estimate of $ 399 million needed, due to the shortage of visitors.
Follow after
However, still attractive to the press, the government's difficulty in selling the Dome became the subject of critical commentary. The amount spent to keep the building closed was also criticized. Shortly after it was closed, Lord Falconer reported that The Dome cost more than $ 1 million per month to keep.
Distribution of exhibits
After the closing of the Dome, some Zones were dismantled by the sponsoring organization, but most of the content was auctioned. This includes a number of specially ordered art pieces from contemporary British artists. A piece by Gavin Turk sold well below the auction price later although Turk stated that he did not think the work was successful. The timekeeper of the Millennium attractions was acquired by the Chessington World of Adventures park in Surrey. A unique note of memorabilia and trinkets of the Millennium Experience was held by a private collector in the United States. Many fixtures and fixtures were also purchased by Paul Scally, chairman of Gillingham F.C., for the club stadium.
Temporary reopen
Despite the ongoing debate about future Dome usage, the Dome reopened during December 2003 for the Winter Wonderland 2003 experience. The show, which features great entertainment venues, ice rinks, and other attractions, culminated in laser shows and fireworks on New Year's Eve. It also serves as a venue for a number of free music festivals hosted by the Mayor of London under the banner of "Respect".
During the Christmas period of 2004, part of the main dome was used as a shelter for the homeless and others in need, organized by the Charity Crisis after replacing the London Arena, which had previously hosted the event. In 2005, when work began to rebuild the Dome, the London Arena held another event.
Redevelopment and rebranding as The O 2
By the end of 2000, a proposal had been made for a high-tech business park to be established under a tent area, creating an "indoor city" complete with streets, parks and buildings. The actual business park was the original proposal of 1996 for the peninsula site before plans for the proposed Millennium Dome.
In December 2001, it was announced that Meridian Delta Ltd. has been selected by the government to develop the Dome as a sports and entertainment center, and to develop housing, shops and offices in 150 acres (0.61 km 2 ) of surrounding land. He also hopes to move several higher education institutions in London to the site. Delta Meridian is supported by American billionaire Philip Anschutz, who has interests in oil, rail and telecommunications, as well as a series of sports-related investments.
A 2005 report by the House of Commons Public Accounting Committee found that the cost of the Dome's sales process and the surrounding land (which increased to 170 acres from the initial offering of 48 acres enclosed by Dome) and administered the Dome until the Agreement closed was Ã, Â £ 28.7 million. Ã, Â £ 33 million is expected to be returned to taxpayers in 2009. The value of 48 acres occupied by Dome is estimated to reach Ã, Â £ 48 million, which can be realized by destroying the structure, but it is considered better to preserve it. dome.
The dome was openly renamed The O2 on May 31, 2005, in a deal worth £ 6 million a year with a telecom company O2 plc, now a subsidiary of TelefÃÆ'³nica Europe. This announcement, which marks the massive redevelopment of sites that maintain little outside the dome shell, provides publicity to the transition of the dome to entertainment districts including indoor arenas, music clubs, cinemas, exhibition halls and bars and restaurants.. This redevelopment was done by the new owner of the dome, Anschutz Entertainment Group, to the design by HOK SVE and Buro Happold. It cost  £ 600 million, and the resulting venue opened to the public on June 24, 2007, with a concert by rock band Bon Jovi.
During the 2012 Summer Olympics, artistic gymnastics events, along with a round of basketball medals, are held at The O2. It also held a wheelchair basketball event during the 2012 Summer Paralympics. For sponsorship reasons, at that time the arena was temporarily renamed the North Greenwich Arena.
Effects on political career
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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