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The "Palace of the People" was conceived by Owen Jones in 1859. The Great Northern Palace Company had been established by 1860, but was initially unable to raise financing for the construction of the Palace. Construction materials were acquired and recycled from the large 
In 1871, work started on the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway to connect the site to Highgate station. Work on both the railway and the palace was completed in 1873 and, on 24 May of that year, Alexandra Palace and Park was opened. The structure covers some . The palace was built by Kelk and Lucas, who also built the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington at around the same time. Sims Reeves sang on the opening day before an audience of 102,000. Only 16 days later, Alexandra Palace was destroyed by a fire which also killed three members of staff. Only the outer walls survived; a loan exhibition of a collection of English pottery and porcelain, comprising some 4,700 items of historic and intrinsic value, was also destroyed.
The palace was quickly rebuilt and reopened on 1 May 1875. The new Alexandra Palace contained a concert hall, art galleries, a museum, lecture hall, library, banqueting room and large theatre. The stage of the theatre incorporated machinery which enabled special effects for the pantomimes and melodramas then popular – artists could disappear, reappear and be propelled into the air. The theatre was also used for political meetings. An open-air swimming pool was constructed at the base of the hill in the surrounding park; it is long since closed and little trace remains except some reeds.
The grounds included a horse racing course with grandstand (named Alexandra Park Racecourse and nicknamed the "Frying Pan" and the "Pan Handle" because of its layout), which was London's only racecourse from 1868 until its closure in 1970, a Japanese village, a switchback ride, a boating lake and a 9-hole pitch-and-putt
In 1900, the owners of Alexandra Palace and Park were threatening to sell them for redevelopment, but a consortium of public-spirited men in the district, headed by Mr. Henry Burt JP, a member of the Middlesex County Council and of Hornsey District Council, at once embraced the opportunity of securing the palace and the beautiful grounds for the people of London. A committee was formed by Burt and the consortium managed to raise enough money to purchase them just in time. By the Alexandra Park and Palace (Public Purposes) Act 1900, a charitable trust was created; representatives of the purchasing local authorities became the trustees with the duty to keep both building and park "available for the free use and recreation of the public forever".
In 1921 a plaque was erected at the entrance of the south terrace in honour of Burt. The palace passed into the hands of the Greater London Council in 1967, with the proviso that it should be used entirely for charitable purposes, and their trusteeship was transferred to Haringey council in 1980.
During the 
In 1935, the trustees leased part of the palace to the
for use as the production and transmission centre for their new BBC Television service. The antenna was designed by Charles Samuel Franklin of the
Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and
for use as the production and transmission centre for their new television service. In 1936, it became the home of the BBC's first regular public television service. The broadcasting system was the 405-line monochrome Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross.
Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Fi ...
in the London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation o ...
. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Originally built by John Johnson and Alfred Meeson, it opened in 1873 but following a fire two weeks after its opening, was rebuilt by Johnson. Intended as "The People's Palace" and often referred to as "Ally Pally", its purpose was to serve as a public centre of recreation, education and entertainment; North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nor ...
's counterpart to the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...
in South London.
At first a private venture, in 1900, the owners planned to sell it and Alexandra Park for development. A group of neighbouring local authorities managed to acquire it. An Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
created the Alexandra Palace and Park Trust. The Act required the trustees to maintain the building and park and make them available for the free use and recreation of the public forever. The present trustee is the London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation o ...
, whose coat of arms shows lightning bolts depicting Alexandra Palace's pioneering role in the development of television.
In 1935, the trustees leased part of the palace to the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...analogue television
Analog television is the original television technology that uses analog signals to transmit video and audio. In an analog television broadcast, the brightness, colors and sound are represented by amplitude, phase and frequency of an analog s ...
the first fully electronic television system to be used in regular broadcasting. Although other facilities soon superseded it after the war, Alexandra Palace continued to be used by the BBC for many years and its radio and television mast is still in use.
The original studios 'A' and 'B' still survive in the southeast wing with their producers' galleries and are used for exhibiting original historical television equipment. The original Victorian theatre with its stage machinery
Stage machinery, also known as stage mechanics, comprises the mechanical devices used to create special effects in theatrical productions.
See also
* Scenic design
Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the ...
also survives and as of 2019, is back in use. The theatre and stage structure is on English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
's Buildings at Risk register. Alexandra Palace became a listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in 1996, at the instigation of the Hornsey Historical Society.
A planned commercial development of the building into a mixed leisure complex including a hotel, replacement ice-skating rink, cinema, ten-pin bowling alley and exhibition centre, encountered opposition from public groups and was blocked by the High Court in 2007.
The Great Hall and West Hall are typically used for exhibitions, music concerts, and conferences, operated by the trading arm of the charitable trust that owns the building and park on behalf of the public. There is also a pub, ice rink, palm court, and a panoramic view of central London.
In 2013, Alexandra Park was declared a local nature reserve and is also a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation, Grade 1.
The nearest railway stations are the Alexandra Palace with Great Northern services from Moorgate
Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall.
The gate was demolished in 1762, bu ...
and London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
station Wood Green on the Piccadilly line. Alexandra Palace is also served by London Buses routes W3 and W7.
History
19th century
The "Palace of the People" was conceived by Owen Jones in 1859. The Great Northern Palace Company had been established by 1860, but was initially unable to raise financing for the construction of the Palace. Construction materials were acquired and recycled from the large 1862 International Exhibition
The International Exhibition of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses ...
building in South Kensington after it was demolished: the Government had declined to take it over. In 1863 Alexandra Park Co. Ltd. acquired the land of Tottenham Wood Farm for conversion to a park and to build the People's Palace, on a site that stands on a ridge more than high, part of Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross.
Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Fi ...
. Alexandra Park was opened to the public on 23 July 1863.
The planned building was originally named "The Palace of the People"; it and its park were renamed to commemorate the popular new Princess of Wales, Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of ...
, who had married Prince Albert Edward on 10 March 1863. The Palace of the People, or the People's Palace, remained as alternative names. In September 1865, construction commenced but to a design by John Johnson and Alfred Meeson rather than the glass structure initially proposed by Jones.
In 1871, work started on the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway to connect the site to Highgate station. Work on both the railway and the palace was completed in 1873 and, on 24 May of that year, Alexandra Palace and Park was opened. The structure covers some . The palace was built by Kelk and Lucas, who also built the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington at around the same time. Sims Reeves sang on the opening day before an audience of 102,000. Only 16 days later, Alexandra Palace was destroyed by a fire which also killed three members of staff. Only the outer walls survived; a loan exhibition of a collection of English pottery and porcelain, comprising some 4,700 items of historic and intrinsic value, was also destroyed.
The palace was quickly rebuilt and reopened on 1 May 1875. The new Alexandra Palace contained a concert hall, art galleries, a museum, lecture hall, library, banqueting room and large theatre. The stage of the theatre incorporated machinery which enabled special effects for the pantomimes and melodramas then popular – artists could disappear, reappear and be propelled into the air. The theatre was also used for political meetings. An open-air swimming pool was constructed at the base of the hill in the surrounding park; it is long since closed and little trace remains except some reeds.
The grounds included a horse racing course with grandstand (named Alexandra Park Racecourse and nicknamed the "Frying Pan" and the "Pan Handle" because of its layout), which was London's only racecourse from 1868 until its closure in 1970, a Japanese village, a switchback ride, a boating lake and a 9-hole pitch-and-putt golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...
. Alexandra Park cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
and football clubs have also played within the grounds (in the middle of the old racecourse) since 1888. A Henry Willis organ installed in 1875, vandalised in 1918 and restored and reopened in 1929, survives. In its 1929 restored form, Willis's masterpiece was declared by Marcel Dupré
Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré () (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue.
Biography
Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular o ...
to be the finest concert organ in Europe.
20th century
In 1900, the owners of Alexandra Palace and Park were threatening to sell them for redevelopment, but a consortium of public-spirited men in the district, headed by Mr. Henry Burt JP, a member of the Middlesex County Council and of Hornsey District Council, at once embraced the opportunity of securing the palace and the beautiful grounds for the people of London. A committee was formed by Burt and the consortium managed to raise enough money to purchase them just in time. By the Alexandra Park and Palace (Public Purposes) Act 1900, a charitable trust was created; representatives of the purchasing local authorities became the trustees with the duty to keep both building and park "available for the free use and recreation of the public forever".
In 1921 a plaque was erected at the entrance of the south terrace in honour of Burt. The palace passed into the hands of the Greater London Council in 1967, with the proviso that it should be used entirely for charitable purposes, and their trusteeship was transferred to Haringey council in 1980.
During the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the park was closed and the palace and grounds were first used as refugee camp for displaced Belgians, and then later from 1915 to 1919 as an internment camp for German and Austrian civilians. The camp commandant was Lt. Col. R. S. F. Walker until his death in May 1917.
The theatre was greatly altered in the early 1920s, with the general manager, W. J. MacQueen-Pope
Walter James MacQueen-Pope (11 April 1888 – 27 June 1960), known familiarly as Popie, was an English theatre historian and publicist. From a theatrical family which could be traced back to contemporaries of Shakespeare, he was in management for ...
, spending the war reparation money on refurbishing the auditorium. He abandoned the understage machinery that produced the effects necessary in Victorian melodrama; some of the machinery is preserved, and there is a project to restore some of it to working order. After these changes, the theatre was leased by Archie Pitt, then husband of Gracie Fields, who appeared in the theatre. Fields also drew an audience of 5,000 people to the hall for a charity event.
In 1935, the trustees leased part of the palace to the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Marconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 189 ...
. The world's first public broadcasts of (then) "high-definition" television were made from Alexandra Palace in November 1936, an event which is alluded to by the rays in the modern coat of arms of the London Borough of Haringey
The coat of arms of the London Borough of Haringey was granted on 10 May 1965, after the mergers of the former Municipal Borough of Hornsey, the Municipal Borough of Wood Green and the Municipal Borough of Tottenham. Unlike most other London boroug ...
. Two competing systems, Marconi-EMI's 405-line system and John Logie Baird's 240-line system, were installed, each with its own broadcast studio and were transmitted on alternate weeks until the 405-line system was chosen in 1937. After the BBC leased the eastern part of the palace the theatre was only used for props storage space.
The palace continued as the BBC's main transmitting centre for London until 1956, interrupted only by the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
when the transmitter found an alternative use jamming German bombers' navigation systems. In 1944, a German doodlebug exploded just outside the organ end of the Great Hall and the Rose Window was blown in, leaving the organ exposed to the elements. In 1947 some of the pieces of the shattered rose window were incorporated in a new design by architect E.T. Spashett during renovation of bomb-damaged public buildings by the Ministry of Works. During the 1940s and 1950s the palace also housed a public roller-skating rink and the Alexandra Palace Roller Skating Club.
In the early 1960s, an outside broadcast was made from the top of the tower, in which the first passage of a satellite across the London sky was watched and described. It continued to be used for BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
broadcasts until 1969, and for the Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
until 1981. The antenna mast still stands and is used for local terrestrial television transmission, local commercial radio and DAB broadcasts. The main London television transmitter is now at Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
in south London.
Early in 1980, Haringey council took over the trusteeship of Alexandra Palace from the GLC, intending to refurbish the building but just six months later, during Capital Radio
Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. ...
's Jazz Festival, a fire started under the organ and quickly spread. It destroyed half the building. Again the outer walls survived and the eastern parts, including the theatre and the BBC Television studios and aerial mast, were saved. Parts of the famous organ were destroyed, though it had been dismantled for repairs so some parts (including nearly all the pipework) were away from the building in store. Some of the damage to the palace was repaired immediately but Haringey council overspent on the restoration, creating a £30 million deficit. It was then reopened to the public in 1988 under a new management team headed by Louis Bizat. Later the council was heavily criticised for the overspend in a report by Project Management International.
In 1991, the attorney-general stated that the overspending by the council as trustee was unlawful and so could not be charged to the charity. The council for some years did not accept this politically embarrassing finding and instead maintained that the charity "owed" the council £30 million, charged compound interest on what it termed a "debt" (which eventually rose to a claim of some £60 million), and to recoup it tried to offer the whole palace for sale.
An ice rink was installed at Alexandra Palace in 1990. Primarily intended for public skating, it has also housed ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
teams including the Haringey Racers, the Haringey Greyhounds, the London Racers
The London Racers was a British ice hockey club based in London, England formerly members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Although founded in 2003, it claimed to be a successor of the Harringay Racers club established in 1936. Due to a lack of ...
and now the Haringey Huskies, as well as a figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...
club, the Alexandra Palace Amateur Ice Skating Club.
21st century
In June 2004, the first performances for about 70 years took place in the theatre, first in its foyer then in July in the theatre itself. Although conditions were far from ideal, the audience was able to see the potential of this very large space – originally seating 3,000, it could not be licensed for more than a couple of hundred. It was intended that the theatre would reopen, but much costly restoration would be required first. It will never again reach a seating capacity of 3,000 (not least because one balcony was removed in the early part of the 20th century as a fire precaution, when films started to be shown there). A major season of the theatre company Complicite was planned for 2005 but the project, which would have included some repair and access work, was cancelled due to higher-than-anticipated costs.
Plans by the current trustees, Haringey Council, to replace all the charitable uses by commercial ones by a commercial lease of the entire building, including a casino, encountered considerable public and legal opposition, and on 5 October 2007, in the High Court, Mr. Justice Sullivan granted an application by Jacob O'Callaghan, a London resident, to quash the Charity Commission's order authorising a 125-year lease of the entire building to Firoka Ltd.
A masterplan for the future of the site was drawn up in 2012, comprising six 'big ideas' to restore and redevelop the palace. The first of these to be implemented aims to transform the derelict eastern end of the palace, making accessible the Victorian theatre and historic BBC Studios. In 2013 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a Round 1 pass to develop the proposals, creating a new entrance in the restored East Court, re-establishing the theatre as a flexible performance space and re-opening the BBC Studios as a visitor attraction. There was controversy regarding plans to demolish the brick infills in the colonnade on the south-east face of the building, which the BBC constructed after 1936 to form their television studios within. Following a public consultation and advice from English Heritage, Planning and Listed Building Consent was given for the proposals and in March 2015 HLF awarded Round 2 major grant funding securing a positive future for the historic areas.
In 2018 it was announced that the Theatre would open for a BBC Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
performance on 1 September before officially reopening to the public on 1 December 2018 following the completion of the East Wing Restoration Project by the contractor Willmott Dixon
Willmott Dixon is a privately owned contracting, residential development and property support business.
History
The company was founded in 1852, by John Willmott.Dylan Moran,
The fourth
retrieved 18 July 2012 In December 2002, The '' Miss World 2002'' pageant was staged in the venue at short notice, having originally been scheduled for Abuja, Nigeria. In June 2007, a Hackday event was hosted at Alexandra Palace by the
and Horrible Histories
''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more.
In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpor ...
, Gilbert & George, Gareth Malone
Gareth Edmund Malone (born 9 November 1975) is an English choirmaster and broadcaster, self-described as an " animateur, presenter and populariser of choral singing". He is best known for his television appearances in programmes such as '' The ...
and an evening of jazz presented by Ronnie Scott's.
Notable events
Alexandra Palace has hosted a number of significant events over the course of its history. Recurring events held there include theGreat British Beer Festival
The Great British Beer Festival (sometimes abbreviated as GBBF) is an annual beer festival organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). It presents a selection of cask ales, and the Champion Beer of Britain awards, and is held in August of e ...
(1977–1980), the Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
(1993–1995), the PDC World Darts Championship (2008–present) and the Masters snooker tournament (2012–2020 and 2022).
In November every year, a large fireworks display is scheduled there as part of London's Bonfire Night
Bonfire Night is a name given to various annual celebrations characterised by bonfires and fireworks. The event celebrates different traditions on different dates, depending on the country. Some of the most popular instances include Guy Fawkes ...
celebrations.
1960s
''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
s Wildlife Exhibition held here in 1963 was an important early event in highlighting awareness of worldwide endangered species, and it gained a large attendance (46,000).
In April 1967, a benefit event took place there. The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, organised by the '' International Times'', demonstrated the importance of the quickly developing Underground scene. Although venues such as the UFO Club
The UFO Club ( ') was a short-lived British counter-culture nightclub in London in the 1960s. The club was established by Joe Boyd and John "Hoppy" Hopkins. It featured light shows, poetry readings, well-known rock acts such as Jimi Hendrix, ...
were hosting counter-cultural bands, this was certainly the largest indoor event at the time. Performers included headlining act Pink Floyd as well as the Pretty Things, Savoy Brown, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Soft Machine, The Purple Gang, The Move
The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their car ...
and Sam Gopal's Dream (featuring Sam Gopal, Mick Hutchinson and Pete Sears
Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock o ...
). John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
attended, and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
(who was soon to become Lennon's new romantic partner) presented her performance work "Cut Piece".
1970s
In 1970, Italian directorLucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci (; 17 June 1927 – 13 March 1996) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Although he worked in a wide array of genres through a career spanning nearly five decades, including comedies and Spaghetti Westerns, he ga ...
filmed an important segment of his giallo film ''A Lizard in a Woman's Skin
''A Lizard in a Woman's Skin'' ( it, Una lucertola con la pelle di donna) is a 1971 ''giallo'' film directed by Lucio Fulci and produced by Edmondo Amati and Robert Dorfmann. It stars Florinda Bolkan, Stanley Baker, Jean Sorel, Leo Genn, and ...
'' here. Alexandra Palace posed as a disused church. The rock band Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
played at Alexandra Palace's Grand Hall in two sell out performances on the evenings of the 22/23 December 1972. Their concert tickets were priced at £1 each for the two hour long gig and were uniquely made available from specific Harlequin Record Shops within Central London.
In 1973, the Divine Light Mission
The Divine Light Mission (''Divya Sandesh Parishad''; DLM) was an organization founded in 1960 by guru Hans Ji Maharaj for his following in northern India. During the 1970s, the DLM gained prominence in the West under the leadership of his fourth a ...
held a "Festival of Love" there. Also in 1973, British rock band Wishbone Ash played a Christmas concert at the palace, billed as "Christmas at the Palace".
The American band Grateful Dead played a series of three shows there between 9 and 11 September 1974 and a recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
of portions of all three shows was released as part of the Dick's Picks series in March 1997.
The Campaign for Real Ale held the Great British Beer Festival
The Great British Beer Festival (sometimes abbreviated as GBBF) is an annual beer festival organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). It presents a selection of cask ales, and the Champion Beer of Britain awards, and is held in August of e ...
there from 1977 to 1980 (the 1980 edition taking place in tents outside the fire-damaged Alexandra Palace). On the afternoon of 10 July 1980 (an accidental) fire destroyed the Great Hall, Banqueting Suite, Dressing Rooms and Ice Rink during contractors routine repairs and maintenance.
From July 27 to August 5 The London Music Festival '73 was held here. It claimed to be the biggest indoor rock festival ever staged.
1980s
After the fire, the burnt-out shell of the great hall of Alexandra Palace was used as Victory Square inMichael Radford
Michael James Radford (born 24 February 1946) is an English film director and screenwriter. He began his career as a documentary director and television comedy writer before transitioning into features in the early 1980s. His best-known credits ...
's 1984 film adaptation of George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and fina ...
''.
The Sinclair C5 battery electric vehicle was launched at the palace in January 1985, one week after the closure of the 405-line television system that was inaugurated there 49 years earlier.
In November 1989 the Stone Roses played their first major gig in the South of England at Alexandra Palace, notable particularly as the band sold the venue out before being featured significantly in the music press or making any national television appearances.
1990s
Hugh Cornwell
Hugh Alan Cornwell (born 28 August 1949) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk rock and new wave band the Stranglers from 1974 to 1990. Since leaving the ...
played his last gig with the Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...
at Alexandra Palace in August 1990.
Blur performed a major concert at the venue in October 1994 to promote their album '' Parklife''. The recording of the concert was released on video in February 1995 with the title '' Showtime'' and used as the basis for the video for the band's song " End of a Century".
From 1993 to 1995, the Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
were hosted at Alexandra Palace. In November 1996 it was the venue for the annual MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...
.
In 1996, the Palace hosted the inaugural London Model Engineering Exhibition which continued each year until 2021 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
2000s
In April 2000, the funeral service of the Labour MPBernie Grant
Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant (17 February 1944 – 8 April 2000) was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Tottenham, London, from 1987 to his death in 2000.
Biography
Bernie Grant was born in Georgetown ...
took place at the Palace. An estimated 3,000 people attended.
The fourth Mind Sports Olympiad
The Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO) is an annual international multi-disciplined competition and festival for games of mental skill and mind sports. The inaugural event was held in 1997 in London with £100,000 prize fund''Mind Sports Olympiad Su ...
was held at Alexandra Palace in August 2000, with more than 4,000 competitors from around the world taking part in mind sports.''Fierce rivalry in 'Olympics' for brainboxes'', CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, Paul Sussman, 23 August 2000retrieved 18 July 2012 In December 2002, The '' Miss World 2002'' pageant was staged in the venue at short notice, having originally been scheduled for Abuja, Nigeria. In June 2007, a Hackday event was hosted at Alexandra Palace by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Yahoo!
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...
During the event, the building was struck by lightning, causing the fire vents to open (and then get stuck open), and it rained inside the building.
Since December 2007, Alexandra Palace has hosted the PDC World Darts Championship, following 14 years from December 1993 to January 2007 of the tournament being held at the Circus Tavern
The Circus Tavern is an entertainment venue in Purfleet, Essex, England which hosts functions, cabaret acts and is also a nightclub venue. First opened in 1974, it is most famous as having been a long-time venue of the PDC World Darts Champion ...
in Purfleet
Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater Lon ...
, Essex. The palace was previously home to the ''News of the World'' Darts Championship between 1963 and 1977.
April 2008 saw the relaunch of the regular antiques fairs, now held four times a year, organised by International Antiques & Collectors Fairs (IACF).
2010s
The band Portishead hosted one of two All Tomorrow's Parties
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''.
Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...
festivals titled ''I'll Be Your Mirror'' in July 2011 at Alexandra Palace. The 50th anniversary programme of '' Songs of Praise'' was recorded there in September 2011 and broadcast the following month.
Since 2012, it is the venue for the Masters snooker tournament, held every January. The only year it was not held at the venue was 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
During the 2012 Summer Olympics it served as the official hospitality venue for the Dutch Olympic team.
In November 2012, it was the venue for the annual Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...
, a music and extreme sports festival.
Alexandra Palace continues to be a prolific and high-profile music venue attracting internationally renowned artists. Suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was firs ...
appeared in March 2013, playing one of the first dates in support of ''Bloodsports
A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities characte ...
'', their first new album in more than a decade. In September 2013, Björk performed one of the final concerts of her Biophilia Tour
The Biophilia Tour was the seventh concert tour by Icelandic musician Björk. The tour was centered on her multimedia project and studio album '' Biophilia'' (2011). The tour premiered at the Manchester International Festival and visited Europe, A ...
. The show was the last concert to be held "in the round", a format which characterised the tour, and the first to be performed in this way at Alexandra Palace. The eclectic programming has included in 2015, Florence and the Machine playing 4 dates of their How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Tour in the palace as well as in 2016 alone, heavy metal band Slipknot, Drum & Bass DJ Andy C
Andrew John Clarke (born 7 April 1976) is a British DJ and record producer and is co-founder of RAM Records, a pioneering label in the drum and bass genre.
Music career
Early years
Andy C was a DJ in his own right but gained a strong reputa ...
and the Last Shadow Puppets; with sell out shows by Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who ...
and Panic at the Disco.
The bootcamp stage for series 13 of ''The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' was filmed at the Alexandra Palace from 6 to 8 July 2016.
2020s
In June 2020, Nick Cave recorded the live album and concert film Idiot Prayer in the West Hall. On the record, he performs songs from throughout his career solo on the piano. On 18 April 2021,London Grammar
London Grammar are an English indie pop band formed in Nottingham in 2009. The band consists of Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic “Dot” Major. Their debut extended play, '' Metal & Dust'', was released in February 2013 by Metal & Dust R ...
performed their third album, ''Californian Soil'', live at Alexandra Palace.
The Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
and Duchess of Cambridge
Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...
presented the Earthshot Prizes, with many celebrity guests, at Alexandra Palace on 17 October 2021.
Fontaines DC performed the last show of their 2021 UK tour at Alexandra Palace on 27 October 2021.
On 19 May 2022 Charli XCX
Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...
took to the stage for her largest show to date, mid way through her Europe and North American tour: Crash the Live Tour.
Notes and references
External links
Alexandra Palace (Victorian London)
Save Ally Pally: campaign to maintain the charitable status of the palace and preserve its TV studios, organ and Victorian theatre for the public
*
Detailed history of early BBC TV broadcasts, with archive photos
– 9 July 2003
Alexandra Palace Television Society
* ttp://www.londonarchitecture.co.uk/Building/280/United_Kingdom/England/London/Wood_Green/N22/Alexandra_Palace.php Pictures and Information About Alexandra Palace History
Hornsey Historical Society
Friends of Alexandra Park
– website promoting and protecting Alexandra Park in North London
Friends of Alexandra Palace Theatre
Restoration – Alexandra Palace – The East Wing Keith Armstrong 2018 The author’s personal photographic record documenting the 2 year project.
– West Corridor Murals designed and painted by Haringey Mural Workshop artists: Gary Drostle, Ruth Priestly, Hilary Leobner, Joann White, John Beaumont {{Authority control Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in London History of the London Borough of Haringey History of Middlesex Middlesex Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Haringey Music venues in London Television studios in London Media and communications in the London Borough of Haringey Exhibition and conference centres in London History of television in the United Kingdom History of broadcasting BBC history BBC Television BBC offices, studios and buildings Indoor ice hockey venues in England Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Haringey Darts venues Snooker venues Palaces in London Grade II listed palaces Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Haringey Badminton venues Rebuilt buildings and structures in the United Kingdom John Johnson buildings