Changing Britain

Changing Britain interrogates 70 years of British history, focusing on society, culture and politics.

In 1951, the nationwide Festival of Britain established a feeling of recovery and progress following the Second World War. Do we still believe in the values of the festival?

Changing Britain begins with a series of BBC Concert Orchestra concerts and an exhibition in Hayward Gallery, History is Now, in which seven artists offer a radical take on Britain's cultural history.

The festival builds up to three weekends of talks and debates ahead of the General Election on Thursday 7 May.

Changing Britain 1945 – 1979
18 - 19 April 2015

Changing Britain 1979 - 1997
25 - 26 April 2015

Changing Britain 1997 - 2015
2 May 2015


It's inspired by Tales of a New Jerusalem, a series of acclaimed books by historian David Kynaston examining the social history of England after World War Two.

Join us to explore issues of equality, fairness and social justice over the past 70 years.

Following the election on 9 May there's a performance by London Sinfonietta, who present two sets of newly commissioned works co-curated by Matthew Herbert and the Royal Philharmonic Society, as a message to the new government.