Among the entertainment to be found within the Millennium Dome – one of four major attractions that opened in the capital for the year 2000 – were performances on the stage of a McDonald’s sponsored area called “Our Town”. Here, groups from across the country told stories of their home. The line-up included a collection of school children from a village college in Cambridgeshire. Its troupe were dressed in specially made organza-like costumes – MC-Hammer style trousers and boxy waistcoats.
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Alongside the Dome, the other openings that year were the Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern, and the London Eye.
The Dome, turned 02, changed this part of London (Photo: I-Wei Huang, All Rights Reserved/Getty)
When I visit the 02, there’s a giant cowboy hat hanging near the main entrance. It is about to host a country music festival, one of around 200 events featured at the venue each year. I take an unofficial backstage tour of the arena, watching sets being built and peeking into empty dressing rooms.
This mishmash reflects the structure’s beginnings. There were 14 zones, with themes such as learning, rest and play, but the most memorable part of the Dome was its Body Zone, sponsored by Boots. The zone comprised two human figures leaning against one another. I recall travelling down an escalator that was designed to look as though you were passing through a human body, to the sound of a beating heart.
Youdan remembers it being among the London landmarks that inspired his career choice.
The white roof is made of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-coated glass fibre, which was supposed to last 25 years. Much of it was ripped off by Storm Eunice, then replaced, in 2022.
“People forget that was a pretty nasty site [the Dome was built on], which wasn’t part of the city people wanted to go to,” says Youdan.
The London Eye
The view from the London Eye (Photo: Supplied)To take in the city, from its central artery to its far reaches, millions of tourists ride the London Eye.
Riding one of its pods around sunset, clementine sky framing the Palace of Westminster across the river, light glinting off the 50-storey St George Wharf Tower in Vauxhall and the Crystal Palace Transmitting Tower in the distant southeast, was still memorable a quarter of a century after my last visit.
The bridge offers a popular view of St Paul’s (Photo: Supplied)
The bridge isn’t an attraction as such, but it’s the scene of many photoshoots – most directed towards St Paul’s Cathedral. Its start was shaky. It shut three days after opening on 10 June 2000, as it was swaying under the weight of visitors. It didn’t reopen until February 2002.
Tate Modern
The Tate Modern has had sell-out exhibitions (Photo: Getty)A few steps from the south end of the bridge are the doors to the Tate Modern. Its permanent collections are free to visit, offering a more democratic way to enjoy a regenerated power station than, say, the clothes shops and bars of Battersea’s.
A cheaper appeal is the restaurant and bar. A £8 glass of white can be enjoyed with a clear view of St Paul’s dome.
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