Royal Albert Hall, London

After the great success of The Great Exhibition of 1851, Prince Albert proposed a series of permanent buildings be built to enlighten the public. The idea became jokingly known as Albertopolis.

Gore House on the edge of Hyde Park was bought as part of Albertopolis, but plans developed slowly, and nothing was completed by the time Albert died in 1861. It was subsequently decided to build a great hall on the site in memory of Albert.

The hall was designed by military engineers Francis Fowke and Henry Scott and built by Lucas Brothers.

It was opened in 1871 as the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences. Acoustics were poor, due to the wrought iron glazed roof. A huge canvas sheet was suspended under the roof which improved the sound, and that remained in place until 1949. It wasn't until 1969 that the current plastic acoustic 'flying saucers' were installed to dampen the echo.

In 2004, to meet the need of modern concerts, a lorry park was built under the hall that allows three HGVs to be parked out of sight.

The hall has put on thousands of musical events, as well as tennis, wrestling and film premieres, including Die Another Day and Skyfall.