Royal Albert Hall

BBC Learning EnglishLondon LifeRoyal Albert HallYvonne: Frank Sinatra, Pavarotti and The Beatles allperformed here – and evenWinston Churchill spoke 1 here. Today, join me, Yvonne Archeron a visit to theRoyal Albert Hall with London Life frombbclearningenglish.com!
　　The Royal Albert Hall is a wonderful, round building inLondon which was officially opened in 1871. It was namedafter and 'commissioned' by Queen Victoria's husband andConsort, Prince Albert – so he arranged for it to be builtand paid for it. Prince Albert's dream was that the countryshould always havea place to celebrate the arts, industry and sciences. Butdid The Royal AlbertHall make his dream come true? Let's hear from a tour guide…CLIP 2 FROM GUIDED TOUREverything Albert dreamed of came true. And do you know,even today, this area is still known as Albertopolis. Isn'tthat lovely? I want one of them. What do you think?
　　Yvonne: Sadly, Prince Albert died 10 years before the RoyalAlbert Hall was finished, but as it's still being usedtoday, I think it's fair to say that his dream did cometrue! Here's another chance to hear that short clip again,but this time, try to catch the unofficial name for thearea where The Royal Albert Hall was built…CLIP FROM GUIDED TOUREverything Albert dreamed of came true. And do you know,even today, this area is still known as Albertopolis. Isn'tthat lovely? I want one of them. What do you think?
　　Yvonne: Hmmm – I don't think Yvonneopolis has quite thesame ring as Albertopolis, do you? As we heard, the areawhere The Royal Albert Hall is built is still known as'Albertopolis'. This suggests that it's one of the mostimportant buildings in the area - and that Albert was a manof the people.
　　The suffix 3 'polis' – spelt P-O-L-I-S… comes from theGreek for 'city' and the Latin for 'belonging to thepeople' – so as the tour guide suggested, it's a lovelysuffix to add to a name. Other places which also make useof the suffix 'polis' include the Acropolis in Greece,Teresópolis and Petrópolis in Brazil, which are believed tohave been named after Teresa and Peter of the Portugueseroyal family. And of course, who can forget the Metropolisin the film "Superman"?!
　　Is there an important place or building where you live thatuses the suffix 'polis'? Who's it named after? And is thereanyone who you think should be honouredin this way?
　　IDENTYvonne: Linda Clifford is the longest serving steward 4 atthe Royal Albert Hall and isnow Head Steward. She started working there in 1986 andtold us about two very special ladies who visit the Hallonce a year. Who are they – or at least – who do youthink they were?
　　Linda CliffordThere are several ghosts. Two ladies that walk just belowus on a certain day in the year. Now I've been here whenthe lights have been switched off. I have to admit, it'squite creepy. The doors creak and you could turn around and– maybe there was something there?
　　Yvonne: Perhaps the two ladies were performers who appearedat the Royal Albert Hall in the past. And maybe one of themcould even be Queen Victoria?! Well, whether you believe inghosts or not, Linda says there are several at the RoyalAlbert Hall… it's 'haunted 5'! So with the lights off, theghosts and the creaking doors, it's a 'creepy' building –it's a bit frightening and eerie 6.
　　Linda CliffordThere are several ghosts. Two ladies that walk just belowus on a certain day in the year. Now I've been here whenthe lights have been switched off. I have to admit, it'squite creepy. The doors creak and you could turn around and– maybe there was something there?
　　Yvonne: Probably best known as the venue 7 for the Proms, theRoyal Albert Hall can seat 7,000 people and over 300performances take place there each year. But what type ofpeople do they hope will come to those performances? Listenout for the terms 'cross section' and 'narrow section'
　　which mean opposite things as the Chief Executive 8 at theRoyal Albert Hall explains…Chief Executive, Royal Albert HallWhat we're looking for is a balance of programming over thecourse of a year that enables us to provide something foreverybody so that we can reach young, old – really, anentire cross- section. Because the one thing the hall isnot about is being elitist and only appealing to a narrowsection of the audience.
　　Yvonne: Performances at the Royal Albert Hall are carefullydesigned to 'reach' or attract all types of people. TheChief Executive says it isn't 'elitist' – so it isn't justfor very rich, powerful and privileged people to use. Andthat was certainly Prince Albert's dream!