Travel By Numbers: South Bank
As Tate Modern celebrates its 10th birthday, Ben Ross adds up the attractions of London's cultural hub
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The year Tate Modern opened. More than 45 million visitors have passed through the doors of the former Bankside Power Station over the past decade, and to mark the 10th anniversary Tate Modern is staging "No Soul For Sale – A Festival of Independents" in the Turbine Hall from 14-16 May. The free event includes art events, music and film, with the gallery staying open until midnight on the first two evenings as part of the Europe-wide Museums at Night festival. tate.org.uk/modern
10
The price of a standard ticket (normally £14.30 online) for the London Eye during May, provided you book online for "flights" between 7.30pm and 9pm. The promotion marks the 10th anniversary of the 135m-high structure, which is the third-tallest Ferris wheel in the world after the the Singapore Flyer (165m) and the Star of Nanchang (160m) in China. londoneye.com
6
The number of storeys in County Hall, once the home of the Greater London Council and now host to the London Sea Life Aquarium. A refurbishment has recently been completed and the latest exhibit is Rainforests of the World, which opened in February. Adult tickets are £12.50 when bought online. sealife.co.uk
1951
The year of the Festival of Britain, which saw the South Bank redeveloped as a cultural hub for London. The Skylon and the Dome of Discovery may be long gone, but the Royal Festival Hall remains and, with the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Art Gallery, now forms the Southbank Centre, Europe's largest centre for the arts. Festival Brazil runs here from 19 June to 5 September. southbanklondon.com
1,021
The number of guest rooms in the new Westminster Bridge Park Plaza Hotel, a gleaming £350m, 15-storey edifice that opened on 1 March. A new spa with eight treatment rooms and a 15-metre pool are due to open at the hotel this summer parkplaza.com
8
The floor number of the Oxo Tower's viewing platform, with free access for the public. The art deco tower (the "Oxo" brickwork was a way of getting past restrictions on Thames-side advertising) on Barge House Street also contains shops and the eighth-floor Harvey Nichols restaurant. harveynichols.com
3
The number of Globe theatres that have existed on the South Bank since 1599. The first two burnt down; the reconstructed Shakespeare's Globe ( shakespeares-globe.org ) opened in 1997, close to the original site. Performances of Shakespeare's Henry VIII run from 15 May to 21 August. Other cultural offerings are available close by: head to the Royal National Theatre ( nationaltheatre.org.uk ) or the one-time National Film Theatre, now BFI Southbank ( bfi.org.uk ).
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