As the world marked the year 2000, Greenwich moved centre-stage. The Dome was an opportunity for us all to celebrate the year 2000. An incredible, inspiring day out - for one year only.
At the very heart of the Dome was The Millennium Show - a high energy show with dancing, flying performers, special visual effects, and a powerful soundtrack by Peter Gabriel. Up to five times a day, it told the dramatic love story of a boy of dreams and a girl of action as epoch-making events overtake their worlds.
Elsewhere, there were many exciting zones to explore including a tour through the human body, a voyage through space, a trip to a typical British seaside resort, and an evocative visit back to school with school smells and sounds. There was a specially-made time-travelling Blackadder film starring Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson, showing in the Skyscape Venue.
The Zones
Skyscape By day, for the first time ever, you could see Blackadder on the big screen in a time-travelling misadventure with characters drawn from the last 1000 years and beyond. By night, Skyscape was London's most exciting live venue with concerts, shows, and other one-off specials.Learning Here you could visit a larger than life school corridor and experience school sounds and smells. You were able to enter a school hall for an inspirational film that came to life. You could visit the new world of learning in a magical orchard and see the 21st Century Domesday Book.Work You were able to experience the excitement of work in the future and see how much it had changed from the past. You could demonstrate your skills and learn how to use them to prepare for the new world of work. Also you could measure your skills by playing a series of interactive challenges such as table football.Body Through the elbow. Up the escalator in the arm. A journey of emotions through the human body.Play Save the cats from the dogs. Loop the loop on a bike. Score a great goal. Play your own concerto. Venture into an electronic playground full of futuristic games. Help Coggsley & Spinx, the Timekeepers of the Millennium, as they search for the missing crystals that power the Earth's Great Time Clock. Journey You found yourself in motion here where you could re-discover the excitement of movement, relive the romance of past travel and look forward to future journeys - from two feet to four wheels to flight. Along the way, you were encouraged to think about cleaner, smarter and safer ways to move around and make the world more mobile.Shared Ground Here you were able to observe British interior scenes - the garden shed, lounge and teenager's bedroom. Behind closed doors, we stamp our personalities on our spaces. In public, we're more reserved. In shared ground you were able to experience what we could do with our communities and neighbourhoods if we really joined together.Living Island A trip to a typical British seaside resort, with a beach, bandstand, pier and lighthouse. And not so typical cliffs, made from scrap metal. Here you were able to play arcade games with hidden messages and see what's wonderful and worrying about our environment.Home Planet Take an amazing journey: departing, travelling and arriving at the most incredible planet in the known universe - Earth. You could experience incredible sights, places and natural phenomena, finding out what makes our planet unique.Self Portrait A celebration of our country, our people, our attitudes and tastes, all chosen by our people. You were able to see thousands of faces of the nation, perhaps including your own, in the giant National Portrait, and enjoy Gerald Scarfe's outrageous cartoon sculptures.Talk Here you could take an exciting look at the potential of communication, and the difference between what we say and how we say it. You could even leave a message for the future, try out new ways to "talk" using new technology, become your own 3D computer game hero, take part in a live TV talk show and Experience the magic of ET.Faith Here you could recognise the year 2000 as a significant Christian anniversary and explore the huge range of beliefs and religions that are part of the UK. You were able to celebrate the diversity of different faiths and be inspired to think about your own beliefs.Mind You could experience the zone's gravity-defying architecture and play mind games with robots as you explored your senses and perceptions. You could change your race and sex, and work out how our minds could create a better future.Rest A mental flotation tank, where you could escape the hectic pace of modern life and the flurry of the Dome. An empty space, packed with sound, light and shapes where you were able to switch off, chill out and relax.Our Town Stage This was the venue for over 200 performances from local communities. You could experience the power of live performance as cities and towns shared their histories and hopes through McDonalds's Our Town Story. Or yo could see international visitors perform in the World Stage Season.Money Here you could blow a million pounds in a wild spending spree, and discover what happens when everyone else behaves that way. You were able to see how an earthquake on the other side of the world affects the cash in your bank account, and find out what the City really does with your money.The Milennium Dome is now the O2 - a major London entertainment venue
Photo Credit : QA Photos/NMEC.
