Royal Albert Hall, also known as the Albertopolis, is an incredible concert hall situated in the luxurious South Kensington area. It gets its name from Prince Albert, who designed it after the Great London Exhibition of 1851. After the prince’s premature death, his close aid Henry Hall took up the duties to finish the construction of this building, which was designed to resemble the amphitheatres of ancient Rome. In 1867, Queen Victoria set the cornerstone for the building inside the hall which was originally designed to seat 30 thousand visitors. However, due to financial reasons, the hall was significantly downsized, only housing 5500 visitors.
The hall was built from red brick, with a domed glass and steel roof. The queen opened the theater on 29th March 1871. The dome was a topic of much debate, and was subsequently replaced by an aluminum and glass dome, which absorbs sound far better than the former version.
During inauguration ceremonies, the building houses the largest pipe organ in the world. The hall is the setting of innumerable events: music concerts, ballet performances, festivals, lectures, dance competitions, poetry readings, even circuses (Cirque du Soleil). It hosted performances from the world’s most famous artists, including Cliff Richards, Umberto Tozzi, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington, Depeche Mode, Kylie Minogue, Ludovico Einaudi and recently Adele.
We advise our visitors to take a look at the Royal Albert Hall’s website to inform themselves of performances and events happening in the venue.
