This May, the Great Exhibition Road Festival is celebrating 170 years since Hyde Park was transformed for the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Planned by Prince Albert, the 1851 event aimed to celebrate culture and industry from around the world. Including a range of sights from the largest diamond in the world to furniture made of coal, the event was also where the world’s first physical globe was exhibited. The globe, which is now housed at the Society, was created by Society Fellow Alexander Keith Johnston and has a highly decorated wooden carved based with a central compass. The Johnston globe was awarded a Gold Medal at the Exhibition.
Throughout May, the Great Exhibition Road Festival will be celebrating the anniversary with a series of online talks and on demand content organised by organisations on and around Exhibition Road, including the Society.
Find out more about the festival.
You can also learn more about Albertopolis with our Discovering Britain walk or virtual viewpoint.