Talks Archive

Historical Pageants: from Sherborne 1905 to Olympic Stadium 2012
by Professor Paul Readman

Date: Tuesday 6 December 2016

Members’ Christmas Evening

Twentieth century historical pageantry, from its origins in Sherborne to the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony. 

Historical Pageants: from Sherborne 1905 to Olympic Stadium 2012

The Sherborne Pageant of 1905 started a trend for historical pageants that proved hugely popular in England in the early decades of the 20th century.  After a decline in the post-WW2 era, there was something of a revival in Danny Boyle’s Opening Ceremony at the 2012 London Olympic Games and more recently at the Kynren event, Bishop Auckland (2016)    

Paul Readman is Professor in Modern British History and Vice-Dean for Research, Kings College London. With research interests in modern British politics and cultural history, he is the author of Land and Nation in England: Patriotism, National Identity and the Politics of the Land 1880-1914. He is Principal Investigator on the major AHRC-funded project, “The Redress of the Past: Historical Pageants in Britain, 1905-2016”: http://www.historicalpageants.ac.uk/

 

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