The Millennium Dome
The
Millennium Dome, which has been described as ‘a beacon for all our futures’, is
a ‘landmark of outstanding proportions’.
The
Millennium Dome is an unsightly wok upturned upon Canary Wharf, glaring out
across the water like a giant contraceptive diaphragm held in place with
outsized knitting needles.
The
Millennium Dome has been built to mark a highly significant calendar date. The Millennium Dome, as a monument of celebration for
Christ’s 2000th birthday, ought to be opened on January 1st
2001 – if one trusts the Anno Domini time scheme – as that is the date on which
we will truly enter the new Millennium. However, it is now widely held that the
6th Century scholar Dionysius Exiguus ( Denis the Little ) wrongly
calculated Jesus’ year of birth – Christ’s birth is now thought to have taken
place in ( the somewhat ironic ) 6BC. Which would mean we ought to have
celebrated the new Millennium on January 1st 1995.
The
Millennium Dome is a positive symbol for Britain.
The
Millennium Dome has been denounced by many as a garish symbol of commercialism,
built as a showy demonstration to other nations of Britain’s wealth and power.
In December 1998 it was described by the Archbishop of York, Dr. Hope, as ‘a
monument to human arrogance which contrasts starkly with the true meaning of
the birth of Christ.’
The
Millennium Dome has attracted comparisons with Paris Eiffel Tower, which, when
it was under construction, also suffered criticism from detractors whom claimed
that it was an ugly waste of a colossal amount of money.
The
Millennium Dome, unlike the Eiffel Tower, has not been built to last. Is it to
be open from January 1st 2000, for one year. Which works out to be
at a cost of nearly 24p per second, or £100 for each 6.9 lb.
The
Millennium Dome is an encouragement to both modern art and modern
sensibilities; its inside will be dominated by a hollow 90 ft statue called The
Body, depicting a ‘sensual, reclining woman appearing to cradle or comfort a
half-man’, said by the designer to reflect women’s rise in power and improving
gender politics.
The
Millennium Dome’s celebrations of the arts ( and justification of its existence
) ring as hollow as its centrepiece’s statue. Which really only gives the female
dominant presence as with only a half-man statue of that size visitors will not
be met with a 4 foot penis.
The
Millennium Dome is a mastery of design and construction, with a floor area of nearly
20 acres ( equivalent to two Wembley stadiums ) and the height of Nelson’s
Column.
The
Millennium Dome will be dominated by the corporate sponsorship which was helped
to fund it – the outside approaches to the Dome will be dominated by a 1,000
seater McDonalds, a company who have donated £12 million to the project.
The
Millennium Dome will celebrate life, religion and culture, under one expansive
( and expensive ) aeroplane-proof roof.
The
Millennium Dome’s then PR office in July of 1999, asked the Church of England
to pay £50,000 for the ‘honour’ of being the “preferred religious partner” of
the Millennium Dome’s official souvenir brochure, and allegedly told them that,
if they refused, the same offer would be made to other religious groups. Including
the Church of Scientology.
The
Millennium Dome was built on reclaimed land, which had once been one of
Europe’s most polluted areas – the ground had stood undeveloped for over twenty
years because a gasworks had contaminated the soil up to a depth of fourteen
metres.
The
Millennium Dome is built on what had once been one of Europe’s most polluted
areas. Still. It’s better than an Indian burial ground, eh…?
The
Millennium Dome has created 2,500 jobs during the construction phase alone, and
has severely boosted the local economy with 2/3 of the contracts being won by
local businesses.
The
Millennium Dome stands to make its directors ( Steve Brown, Liam Kane and
Jennie Page ) bonuses of up to £400,000, even if the project does not open on
time. The Millennium Experience Company has said that the bonus scheme is
necessary to keep staff until the end of their contracts. ( The contracts
themselves not being enough. )
The
Millennium Dome will provide a focal point of celebration for the country, its
history and future.
The
Millennium Dome is an incredible waste of £758 million. Money poured into the
Millennium Dome could have been far better spent on a Year 2000 grant/bonus for
under-funded humanitarian institutions; schools, the NHS, homeless shelters, etc.
The Dome will not provide a positive symbol for the future for those who cannot
afford to visit it. It will not help to save lives, heat homes, or clothe
children, and no matter what delights it holds, it still stands more as a
symbol of capitalist greed & wanton commercialism than of a bright
humanitarian future for the country which it is supposed to represent.
