STORY:
Dress Warm for London's Dome

Inside the "millennium dome" it will be festive but frosty this New Year's Eve

(Everything2000) It is huge, it is controversial and now it is cold! London’s Millennium Dome has prompted yet another controversy. The latest news is the temperature inside. Let’s just say if you’re headed to London and are part of the exclusive "millennium dome" guest list-- dress festive, but don’t forget to bring a coat.

The invitation should read "dress up and wrap up". Temperatures inside the dome will be no more than five degrees higher than outside, which could be a real problem since its the beginning of winter. With 10, 000 guests the body heat may help, yet it probably won’t be enough to keep guests comfortable unless they are wearing a jacket or sweater.

The temperature problem was discovered during the first dress rehearsal. Even though there were 5,000 people inside it was still cold and guests complained. To help alleviate the chilly conditions air blowers will be brought in to circulate warm air.

Organizers say the dome will be warm enough on New Year’s Eve because of the amount of people and because they will keep all the flaps closed during the day. On the day of the dress rehearsal the flaps were up for deliveries and that could have accounted for the temperature dip.

London’s Millennium dome has come under some major criticism lately. Not only has it cost 1.2 Billion dollars to build, but also many say the structure is just plain ugly. It is 160 feet tall and some say it looks like a giant mushroom. It is huge; the dome covers 80,000 square meters.

It may be a bit chilly but organizers hope the guests won’t mind because they will be enjoying the party so much. The plans for New Year’s Eve are just being revealed and the guests will be kept busy inside.

The celebration and grand opening begins at 7pm with food and drink. And when we say drink we are talking 10,000 bottles of champagne. Guests will enjoy the bubbly and the displays set up inside until 10pm when they will called to take their places in the central area to listen to the evenings musical guests. An hour later projector screens will show scenes from 16 world capitals and comedian and writer Stephen Fry will treat guests to his "warm-up" act.

The guest of honor will be the Queen of England. She will arrive about 15 minutes before midnight and be followed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. At midnight the chimes of Big Ben will be beamed into the dome and the audience will see the Thames fireworks display. After a rousing chorus of Auld Lang Syne aerial artists will leap from the roof into the main arena and nearly 1,000 musicians, singers and dancers will take part in a half-hour show.

The party will continue with musical guests and skydivers, bungee jumpers and carnival bands. A little bit of something for everyone inside London’s Millennium Dome, just not enough warm air to go around.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

DATE: 12/22/99

For more E2000 stories, click here:
news | events | Y2K | today's news | life | party | stew

Marketplace
Books
Collectibles
Celebration Supplies
General Merchandise
Travel Packages