The Art Newspaper

Millennium Dome "should never have been", admits Blair

By The Art Newspaper. From In The Frame
Published online: 01 September 2010

Ready to catch a slippery acrobat?

Among the admissions in Tony Blair’s new book, “A Journey”, published yesterday, is the mistake he made over the Millennium Dome (now the O2 concert venue). Built in Greenwich, in east London, “the great British exhibition” turned out to cost nearly £800m, with its lack of content being widely derided. Although defending it at the time, Blair now says that it “should never have been”. As to the prospect of the opening night, the prime minister would have “preferred a visit to the dentist”. It turned out even worse, thanks to the breakdown of the train carrying VIP guests. Fortunately the royal family had their own transport. “I don’t know precisely what Prince Philip thought of it all, but I shouldn’t imagine it’s printable.” As the proceedings got under way, the prince pointed out that the acrobats didn’t have safety harnesses. Blair suddenly feared one would fall and land on the monarch, who was in prime position. He even composed the headline: “Queen killed by Trapeze Artist at Dome.” Blair says in his book that “I joke about it now but at 11.30 pm on New Year’s Eve 1999, I was absolutely convinced.”