Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Southbank Centre" in English language version.
Festival Wing undercroft to be refurbished and skate park moved to nearby Hungerford bridge, but skaters aren't happy ... It has carved a place in counter-cultural history – a concrete enclave on London's South Bank beloved by skateboarders that has appeared in countless magazines and films. The undercroft at the Southbank Centre is hailed as the birthplace of British skateboarding, a spot that has nurtured the homegrown talents of skateboard professionals such as Lewis "Chewie" Cannon, Ben Fairfax and Joey Pressey. The space is also used by BMX bikers and graffiti artists, and has become the urban arts foil to the high cultural offerings of the Southbank Centre. The proposals for the Festival Wing would see the undercroft replaced by retail units, which are expected to pay for a third of the financing for the refurbishment.
When skateboarding hit Britain in the 1970s, it gave an unexpected new lease of life to a disused space under London's Southbank centre. Now the undercroft is viewed as one of the best unplanned skate parks in Europe: thousands of visitors to the South Bank of the Thames stop to admire tricks being performed against a constantly evolving backdrop of graffiti and street art. But the Southbank Centre wants to relocate the skaters in 2014 to provide commercial space to fund a major refurbishment of the Festival Wing (the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward gallery). The Guardian reported that an online petition against the move has gathered 30,000 signatures.
Festival Wing undercroft to be refurbished and skate park moved to nearby Hungerford bridge, but skaters aren't happy ... It has carved a place in counter-cultural history – a concrete enclave on London's South Bank beloved by skateboarders that has appeared in countless magazines and films. The undercroft at the Southbank Centre is hailed as the birthplace of British skateboarding, a spot that has nurtured the homegrown talents of skateboard professionals such as Lewis "Chewie" Cannon, Ben Fairfax and Joey Pressey. The space is also used by BMX bikers and graffiti artists, and has become the urban arts foil to the high cultural offerings of the Southbank Centre. The proposals for the Festival Wing would see the undercroft replaced by retail units, which are expected to pay for a third of the financing for the refurbishment.
When skateboarding hit Britain in the 1970s, it gave an unexpected new lease of life to a disused space under London's Southbank centre. Now the undercroft is viewed as one of the best unplanned skate parks in Europe: thousands of visitors to the South Bank of the Thames stop to admire tricks being performed against a constantly evolving backdrop of graffiti and street art. But the Southbank Centre wants to relocate the skaters in 2014 to provide commercial space to fund a major refurbishment of the Festival Wing (the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward gallery). The Guardian reported that an online petition against the move has gathered 30,000 signatures.
