Albert Memorial

The Frieze of Parnassus is a large sculpted stone frieze encircling the podium, or base, of the Albert Memorial in London, England. The Albert Memorial was constructed in the 1860s in memory of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. The frieze is named after Mount Parnassus, the favorite resting place in Ancient Greek mythology for the muses. It contains 169 life-size full-length sculptures, a mixture of low-relief and high-relief, of individual composers, architects, poets, painters, and sculptors from history. The depictions of earlier figures necessarily, were imaginary, although many of the figures were based on materials contained in a collection of artworks and drawings gathered for the purpose of ensuring authentic depictions, where this was possible. The total length of the frieze is approximately 64 metres (210 feet). The frieze was intended to be the 'soul' of the memorial, and the memorial's designer, George Gilbert Scott, stated that he was inspired by the Hémicycle des Beaux Arts by Paul Delaroche. The memorial was not laid out precisely to directions of the compass, however, closely enough that the sides are referred to by direction. Musicians and poets were placed on the south side, with painters on the east side, sculptors on the west side, and architects on the north side. Henry Hugh Armstead carved the figures on the south and east sides, the painters, musicians, and poets (80 in total), and grouped them by national schools. John Birnie Philip carved the figures on the west and north sides, the sculptors and architects (89 named figures, plus two generic figures), and arranged them in chronological order. The carving was executed in situ, and was said by Scott to be "perhaps one of the most laborious works of sculpture ever undertaken". The initial contracts, agreed around 1864, had specified that the work was to be completed in four years for £7,781 15s. The eventual cost, however, exceeded this by some £2,000 and the work was not finished until 1872. Large groups of figures of eminent persons from the past often decorate public buildings and monuments of the later nineteenth century, and some buildings such as the Walhalla temple in Bavaria and the Panthéon in Paris were dedicated to this purpose. Many figures of visual artists decorate the Victoria and Albert Museum close to the Albert Memorial at the other end of the "Albertopolis" complex. A mosaic frieze of more generalised figures from the arts runs round the circular Royal Albert Hall adjacent to the memorial. The Parnassus by Raphael (1511), opposite the philosophers of The School of Athens in the Vatican Raphael Rooms, is an earlier group portrait of great artists.

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no government funding. It can seat 5,272.Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the BBC Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941. It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium spaces. Over its 151 year history the hall has hosted people from various fields, including meetings by Suffragettes, speeches from Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein, fights by Lennox Lewis, exhibition bouts by Muhammad Ali, and concerts from regular performers at the venue such as Eric Clapton and Shirley Bassey.The hall was originally supposed to have been called the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences by Queen Victoria upon laying the Hall's foundation stone in 1867, in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who had died six years earlier. It forms the practical part of a memorial to the Prince Consort; the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, now separated from the Hall by Kensington Gore.

Gore House, built in the 1750s, with its 3-acre (1.2 ha) grounds was in Middlesex, England in a large exclave of St Margaret Westminster, Kensington Gore. Until its west wing soon became Grove House it was set apart from the east end of a row of 18th-century houses running from Palace Gate (near Kensington Palace) to the east, and was part of a phase of such houses facing Kensington Gardens as far as Knightsbridge, a broad bridge across the West Bourne. As the 1831 map, inset, shows: Upper Kensington Gore was the short-lived name for a short section of Kensington Road/Gore which was fronted by grand houses with large grounds and by Kensington Gardens. Its interiors were planned and supervised by leading architect Robert Adam. Between 1808 and 1821 William Wilberforce lived in it; he co-led the abolition of the slave trade and then slavery in the British Empire. It was occupied by the Countess of Blessington and the Count D'Orsay from 1836 to 1849. In May 1851, certain floors were converted to restaurant by the chef Alexis Soyer, with the aim of competing with and catering for the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park to the north. After the exhibition, it was bought by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, for the Albertopolis cultural and educational sites. Today the Royal Albert Hall takes up its site.

The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's first victory at the 1967 contest with the song "Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw. Despite having won for the first time the year before, it was actually the third time that the United Kingdom had hosted the competition, having previously done so in 1960 and 1963, both of which also took place in London. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the contest was held at Royal Albert Hall on 6 April 1968, and was hosted by Katie Boyle for the third time. It was notably also the first time that the contest was broadcast in colour. Seventeen countries participated in the contest, the same countries that had participated the previous year. The winner was Spain with the song "La, la, la" by Massiel, and written/composed by Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa. This was Spain's first victory - and their first ever top five placing - in the contest. With her winning reprise, she became the first winner to perform part of her song in English, in addition to the original version.

The Rothmans International Tennis Tournament was a men's tennis tournament held in London, England between 1970 and 1977. The tournament was played on indoor carpet courts at Royal Albert Hall in London, except for the final edition in 1977 which was played at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, and was held in the March. From 1973 until 1977 the tournament was organized as part of the World Championship Tennis circuit.

Kensington Gore is the name of a U-shaped thoroughfare on the south side of Hyde Park in central London, England. The streets connect the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal College of Art, the Royal Geographical Society, and in Kensington Gardens the Albert Memorial. The area is named after the Gore estate which occupied the site until it was developed by Victorian planners in the mid 19th century. A gore is a narrow, triangular piece of land, in this case the wedge-shaped piece of land which divides them, and which has been known from Anglo-Saxon times as The Gore. The street replaces part of Kensington Road, connecting what would otherwise be two separate streets.

The Grand Organ (described by its builder as The Voice of Jupiter) situated in the Royal Albert Hall in London is the second largest pipe organ in the United Kingdom, after the Liverpool Cathedral Grand Organ. It was originally built by Henry "Father" Willis and most recently rebuilt by Mander Organs, having 147 stops and, since the 2004 restoration, 9,999 pipes. An anonymous user publishes a tongue-in-cheek Twitter account supposedly written by the organ at @AlbertHOrgan.

The Memorial to the Great Exhibition is an outdoor monument commemorating the Great Exhibition (1851) and depicting Albert, Prince Consort, designed by Joseph Durham with modifications by Sydney Smirke and located south of Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom. Originally installed in the Royal Horticultural Society gardens in 1863, it was relocated to its current site during 1891–1893 when the gardens were reconstructed and Prince Consort Road was created.

Imperial College London's student accommodation comprises 23 halls of residence around West London, primarily South Kensington and North Acton. Accommodation is primarily for first-year undergraduates, although some halls exist for returning students, who may also return as "hall seniors" with operational responsibilities. Halls are run by wardens and subwardens, who are postgraduates or junior academics. Silwood Park halls are postgraduate, but only cater for students studying on site.The college has in recent years enacted a policy of moving accommodation provision from central London to North Acton. All halls are self-catered.

Imperial College Radio or IC Radio is the student radio station at Imperial College London

Beit Hall, forming part of Beit Quadrangle, is a hall of residence and one of Imperial College London's oldest and most historic buildings. Beit Hall is named after Alfred Beit and is located on Prince Consort Road, next to the Royal Albert Hall in London. The north side of the quadrangle forms the Union Building, home to Imperial College Union, and is not part of Beit Hall. The Union Building was the site of the first Queen concert, and has hosted events associated with the BBC Proms.Beit Hall was built in 1910 on architect Aston Webb's designs to accommodate Imperial College students. Parts of the building were originally used for academic purposes. Two floors were added in the late 1950s and the building was entirely refurbished in 2001. It accommodates 300 students. During term-time, Beit Hall functions as student halls, whilst during the remaining 14 weeks Beit becomes a conference centre and hotel. On the front façade is a relief of the coat of arms of Imperial College.Books left by students in Beit were collected into a circulation library of around 400 items for personal reading in the Union Building in the mid-20th century. This later became the Haldane Library and is now part of the Central Library.

The Union Concert Hall is in the East wing of the part of Beit Quadrangle of Imperial College, London, occupied by Imperial College Union. The room is part of the theatre installed within the building. It is home to Imperial College Union Cinema and the Imperial College Dramatic Society, and is a multi-purpose space used by clubs, societies and projects of Imperial College Union. It can also be hired by outside customers.