'We've never needed this more' Festival of Britain anniversary event aims to 'galvanise' nation

Danny Boyle will turn the Southbank Centre in London into a celebration of youth culture in May to mark the 75th anniversary of the Festival of Britain, which leaders of the institution hope will “galvanise” the country as the original celebration did in 1951.

- Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent

The You Are Here event headed by Boyle, who was the artistic director for opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, will involve thousands of participants taking over the centre to celebrate the role the institution “has played in supporting youth culture since its inception”.

The Southbank Centre was at the heart of the 1951 Festival of Britain, a celebration of British science, technology and arts thought up by Clement Attlee’s Labour government, with the Royal Festival Hall sitting as the centrepiece.

The Southbank Centre’s director, Elaine Bedell, told the BBC the original festival was a “burst of colour” after the pain of the second world war, and that organisers of next year’s event were taking that bold vision as their inspiration.