Discover how much o the art, design and architecture of the South Bank site for the 1951 Festival of Britain was indebted to émigrés.

After the Second World War, London was a very dark gloomy place covered in bomb sites. The idea from the Labour Government for the Festival of Britain was to cheer up the people of Britain with events and exhibitions accross the Country. The South Bank area had been a very industrial and was heavily bombed and so the area between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge was cleared to make a statement exhbition with pavillions telling the story of Britain, what was new and its achievements in Science, industry and Design – 100 years after the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. What is supprising is that so many of the contributers to this site were relatively new émigrés from abroad or refugees (mostly Jewsih) from Nazi Europe who had fresh approaches to design and architecture and were determined to make their way in their new country of residence. This walk tells of their stories and contributions to the site.

Photo of Peter Lazlo Peri’s The Sunbathers (1951), Exhibited at Waterloo Station, Photo by Marilyn Greene

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