The bridge to the Royal Festival Hall offered our group great views of the whole city of London. Many of the main attractions like the London Eye or the Cathedral drew the attention of many others walking along that bridge, and it was a popular spot for tourists to take pictures with those attractions in the near background. Then when we had reached about halfway across the bridge, we were able to mark out the Royal Festival Hall which appeared to be a gray box, like a movie theater, among all the other sites around. We were initially confused whether or not that dull simple building was really was really the Royal Festival Hall because from a distance, it seemed neither royal nor festive.
Continuing forward, we began to hear the music which brought a sense of life and buzz to the area surrounding the gray box which called us to come closer. Once we arrived at our destination, there were so many people enjoying their Sunday at this place. What struck me as most interesting was how diverse the various sorts of people there were. My first observation was the wide range in age. While there were numerous activities, like splash pads or hula-hoop competitions for children, to run around and play, there were also many older folks watching them or relaxing on the benches enjoying the cool weather.
We experienced more diversity in culture as we walked underneath a series of clotheslines that contained items that reminded me somewhat of Chinese lanterns. It was refreshing for me to something sort of Asian related, and I felt a sense of belonging and welcome which I am not used to feeling in such a special way. We continued forward and experienced one of the greatest examples of diversity which manifested itself through the variety of cultural food there. They had food stands ranging from Ethiopian to Korean to Arab and much, much more. Food is such a key component of culture, and by having so many different types present, the festival was not only able to welcome such peoples to the venue but also expose many more to their culture. It gives foreigners a unique perspective into their own culture. It also reminded me of how long I have been away from home and miss my mom’s Filipino cooking. We explored the different spots and bought some drank. And finding an opening along the stairs, we took a seat and enjoyed the festival.
While it did not seem nearly as grand nor elegant as most other hot tourist spots around London, the Royal Festival Hall effectively incorporates diversity to attract people to celebrate different cultures. It reminded me of a passage from the reading that the hall does not plan all of the events but instead, the people do. That note made me think about one of our class discussions about the relationship between how a structure appears visually versus what actually goes on there. The Royal Festival Hall offers locals a space to gather and celebrate various events despite appearing very simple on the facade.
Lorenzo 