London is undoubtedly layered with history and is the perfect example of where the Victorian and Medieval touches complement the vibrant city it is today. The Royal Albert Hall has certainly withstood it all, from Nina Simone to concerts featuring One Direction, Adele and more. With a history of over 150 years, it remains to be the most iconic building in London brimming with facts and figures that are sure to leave you amazed! Explore this gem and call it a day at an elegant and comfortable central London Accommodation.
One of the oldest performance spaces in London
The Royal Albert Hall celebrated its 150th birthday in 2021 and celebrated it in style! As one of the oldest performance spaces in the world, it remains to be a massive British entertainment fixture to date.
One-of-a-kind glass dome
The massive glass dome that covers the Royal Albert Hall is no small feat. It spans over 20,000 square feet and was typically designed to conceive the roof of Saint Pancras Station. A hall with the highly ambitious appeal that it is, the glass dome stands the test of time to be the largest unsupported one in the world!
The foundation ceremony
It was in the year 1867 when a huge ceremony was held to celebrate the construction of the Royal Albert Hall. The honour of laying the foundation stone was performed by Queen Victoria and a golden trowel was used to do the job.
The ‘Albert Dream’
It was Price Albert’s dream that resulted in the making of Albertopolis of which the Royal Albert Hall is part today. If you are planning to explore the boroughs of West End, you can choose to stay at the luxurious Park Grand London Lancaster Gate, a boutique hotel located in the heart of the city, well-connected to Heathrow Airport.
Venue for the first-ever sumo tournament
The first sumo wrestling tournament in the 1500-year-old history of sports was held in 1991 at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Japan Festival that celebrated Japanese art, food, and music. With over a record 100,000 tickets sold; the tournament turned out to be a massive success.
The Royal Albert Hall is known to host roughly 400 events in a year!
It may be quite hard to believe now, but at the time of its opening, the Royal Albert Hall hosted only 36 shows in a year. Its growth, however, has been phenomenal, in fact, about 10 times over today with about 400 shows a year. Quite a jump, isn’t it?
The jubilee steps
The grand staircase in the back of the Royal Albert Hall was originally known as The South Steps. Due to the brutal weather in London, the stairs were in desperate need of an upgrade. It finally got renamed in the year 2013 as ‘the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Steps’ at a ceremony which was attended by the Queen herself.
A musical gem
The iconic Royal Albert Hall with its world-class acoustics has hosted some of the most famous musicians and performers in history, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Adele, and Whitney Houston. When in town you can book one of the gigs here and enjoy music in this magnificent place.
The guided tours
The Royal Albert Hall hosts several guided tours which include very interesting backstage rooms and auditorium tours which allow you to get a closer look at the absolute gem it is to date. This is the best way to explore the venue while you discover all its glorious history and end an exciting day at one of the many restaurants in Lancaster.
We saved the best for last as is a decadent and delicious way to enjoy the traditional British tradition, paired with a selection of chocolate sandwiches, scones, pastries and more.
