John Major: It would be a tight deadline to meet but it's achievable so long as a creative director for the project was chosen and nothing politically major happened in between Tony Blair: *Hello there* And people thought us having the world's largest stadium for the longest time was ridiculous! The icing on the cake of this whole Millennium Dome drama is the iconic BBC series Blue Peter buried a time capsule under the Dome back in June 1998. They hoped it would stay there until 2050 (they had to dig up another time capsule they originally buried in 1971 twenty years later and buried again at the Television Centre's Blue Peter garden until 2000 because the burial site underwent development)...the time capsule curse continued as due to construction and crew laying cables, the capsule was found in 2017 and accidentally damaged because they first thought it was gold.
Do not contact the first person in the comments that's now deleted. It's not Simon or his people and it's a scam and they will take your money if you have any.
@@bradbrandon2506 I know, damn scammers are everywhere. TH-cam should really block people from making "contact@/#randommessagerapprippedchannelname accounts
@@bradbrandon2506 they aren't deleted just yet, at least they weren't for me. I initially reflexively gave them a thumbs up on seeing the logo, but quickly realized it was one of those dumb scam/spam accounts and changed to thumbs down and reported it. It disappeared after reporting it, but I bet others can still see it. But fully agreed on the ignore them/etc part, as they clearly are not a real part of the Simonverse
Honestly the dome was built, powered, water management and transport done, the exhibition itself may have been a bit meh but London gained something that's been in use ever since (unlike many exhibition halls around the world) - hardly a failure!
As a 6 year old at the time, visiting the Millennium Dome was like visiting a spaceship from the future. I really think my love of science and tech started in that building and I treasure the childhood memories I made there.
I went in September 2000 when I was eleven. The only thing i remember is the body zone, and being overwhelmed by the size of things. But then it was my first and only trip to London.
"New Year's starts on Caroline Island which is situated just east of the International Date Line" True! Kirbati changed the time of the country's eastern half/the Line Islands six years before 2000 for both administrative purposes (to better unite the wide nation since the western half were a full day ahead of the Line Islands before the change) but also to promote tourism to give people the opportunity to be the first to bring in the new Millennium. This caused the International Date Line to make a very weird, jutting shape so it goes around the islands.
Not True. If the Caroline Islands were just east of the International Date Line, they'd be the LAST to see 1 January 2000 - or any other day for that matter. They are just WEST of the International Date Line (the date line is to the east of the islands), which makes them the SECOND place to see a new day - the first being in Antartica.
Feeling very nostalgic watching, going to the dome was one of my earliest childhood memories. I think that body exhibit traumatised me a little but what little I remember I remember fondly.
Fun fact I worked for buro happold for around 6 months and they manage to bring up the O2 arena in almost every presentation and how it’s one of their greatest feats of engineering
1:11 pitching the tent 3:41 failure to plan, plan to fail 6:00 sponsorship 7:51 the lightest building in the world 11:23 highway to the danger zones 13:26 boats, trains, and acrobats 15:15 roll up, roll up 18:26 was it a failure
1:15 - Chapter 1 - Pitching the tent 3:45 - Chapter 2 - Failure to plan , plan to fail 6:00 - Mid roll ads 7:55 - Chapter 3 - The lightest building in the world 11:25 - Chapter 4 - Highway to the danger zones 13:30 - Chapter 5 - Boats, trains & acrobats 15:20 - Chapter 6 - Roll up , roll up 18:30 - Chapter 7 - Was it a failure ?
Oh. My god. You solved a mystery of what the heck i saw when i was five on the eve of y2k, it was the one second scene of the dancers, this whole time i thought it was a death cult or something... this brings so much closure 😅
They should have just built a more fire proof version of the Crystal Palace, made that a celebration of the best of British produce, culture and tech. Something anyone could point at and go 'oh wow, look at that, its beautiful'. A shimmering Victorianesque building surrounded by a slowly maturing greenspace featuring British flowers and trees. Something that would only be more beautiful when reflected in the water of the Thames River. Instead we got a... big white blamanche.
I went there with my school. Remember some random cannon things firing balls, and the heart in the body (not the brains?!). However I DO remember Blackadder Back and Fourth being shown there as part of the visit. THAT was brilliant!
Well, it was a great location for a James Bond chase sequence!!! Also, we love going to the O2 for concerts and events. A superb experience with wonderful helpful staff and a nice selection of (chain) hospitality. If you can, try and arrive by Cable car 🙂I remember the 'fraught' birthing
I loved it. I went with school when I was 11 and I remember it being amazing. Not sure I understood the deeper message behind the acrobat show, but it was definitely pretty.
Due to lack of advertising, the 1984 Worlds Fair in New Orleans was a financial flop, although attendees loved it. But did it ever transform the area of the city where it was built. It changed from decay to delightful.
I normally don't comment on issues of accuracy, but something here caught my attention: 1: Peter Gabriel didn't play bass for Genesis: he was their initial vocalist (though he did play a few instruments on occasion); 2. Gabriel left the band in 1975 and arguably is a much more well-known musician due to his solo work. I know it's a small detail, but accuracy is important when distributing content for public consumption, especially in a documentary-style format.
You touched on the access issues, but part of the concept was that access was only really via public transport or coach, making access difficult to those outside of London (unless on a commuter route).When O2 took over they found space for on-site parking.
This area of London today does work and it’s having new things added all the time. what’s strange about it still however, is that so much of London is really, really old and the dome and surrounding area feel like a peculiar theme park with no connection to anything. it feels like it still lacks creative direction and character.
What, no mention that the Dome was the only place to see `Blackadder - Back and Forth`, admittedly in a cinema next to the Dome, but it was one of the attractions? It was the only reason I went, as the Dome itself just felt like loads of empty space with trinkets sprinkled around the inside.
Theres a fantastic BBC doc called "Trouble at the Big Top - The Death of the Dome" on TH-cam thats totally worth checking out. Unfettled access to the mismanagement of the Dome. 100% worth the watch. The place was amazing but didn't stand a chance it was run so badly.
Never heard of this. I was just transfered from Alaska to California in the military so I missed out on a lot of current events, internet wasn't as much of a thing back then.
These things happen ALL THE TIME in the United States. The public often pays for sports arenas and American football stadiums, even though the stadiums and arenas are owned and used by private sports owner billionaires.
I was lucky enough to be able to go with my family to the Dome in 2000, being about 8, and I VIVIDLY remember bursting into tears in the heart room when the scream went out
I'd be interested to see a video on this channel about the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge. It's almost 24 mi/39 km over open water, supposedly the longest continuous bridge in the world. And it's in New Orleans, so it's been battered by alot of hurricanes in the past 60 years, including getting damaged pretty badly by Hurricane Katrina. So, regardless of whether or not the Millennial Dome is a failure, the Causeway Bridge might be a video on something that is not a failure 😉
Have you ever traveled on the Pontchartrain bridge? It’s incredible! I lived in Gretna which is on the West Bank of the river just south of the city of New Orleans for a couple of years. The scenery is just gorgeous, white cranes, Cyprus trees & Spanish moss. ❤ These are some of the things I love most about my home state. I too would like to see Simon & team cover it.
The Dome was pretty damn cool, went when I was 12 In October 2000 was an awesome day that's stayed with me ever since. I just love the way the media and culture snobs like Mr in the video here always leave out the experience as common person, Also 6 million paid for tickets made it the busiest paid for tourist attraction in Europe, I don't know how that can be branded a failure. The over estimated visitor numbers were a critical failing, the the project as a whole was right for the time, and I'm pretty sure with the 20% Profit sharing deal on the O2 site the government negotiated will when all is said and done cover the costs.
By 'culture snobs' you mean adults. You were 12 years old, and that is the age group that most of the main exhibits were aimed at. I was 36 when I went and it was like visiting a shiny, new, indoor Blackpool. The kindest comment I can say about it is that it was underwhelming.
The stupidest thing that nobody realised was that if it was supposed to celebrate the dawning of a new millennium, it was a whole year early! The year 2000 was actually the LAST year of the 20th century therefore the new millennium would be 2000 going into 2001. I was a local resident and visited it and it was bland, disjointed and frankly disappointing, even though I had delivered supplies to a couple of contractors working on the site. The only thing that stands out for me is the fact that the entire structure weighs less than the air contained inside
I was very conscious of it being a year too early, but was anybody else listening? I remember the Astronomer Royal being interviewed about how the millenium was being marked at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, where lavish celebrations were planned. He was asked what he thought of people who said it was a year too early. His reply: "well, actually, they are right, but we need the money".
I think I remember TechTV sindicated a robotics competition for middle/highschool students that took place at the dome around the turn of the millennium.
The thing I remember was loads of people complaining about the government wasting loads of tax payers money on a giant tent when at the time there was tens of thousands of homeless people desperately needing housing. . Its not changed a lot now tbh.
I don't know how true it was but when I lived in London in the early 2000s a big deal was being made about the fact that even though the dome was 'closed' with nothing going on inside much till o2 bought it, it was costing £1,000,000 per day in maintenance costs.
My parents went there about 3-5 years after opening and they really were impressed. I think they said it was a combination of different types of displays. By the time I went to London I think it had been converted into a concert venue.
I will always love auto-generated subtitles. Small ones but many twisting the video into a bit of a different story. "political inviting" (1:02), "the law was riding on this project" (2:30), "all being erected between the 13th and the 30th of October 1927." (9:54), "the deficient workforce of 1500 people" (11:07), "top designers are now Mage corporate sponsorship" (13:04), "it couldn't be all smooth saving" (13:09), "cues intensified, notice boards displaying useless information fueled a rape parents" (14:20) "it meant no Wars around to fix any issues" (16:39)
You should do a biography about finnish founding father, president and war hero Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim. He is rated as the most important person in Finnish history.
My college choir sang there on a tour. One thing I do remember was the accoustics were absolute garbage. Otherwise it just seemed like an oversized children's museum. I liked some of the features like capturing rainwater from the roof for greywater use. But otherwise, meh. Nothing too exciting.
"politics and business do not mix" and noone listened to him... there was this quote that was probably also atrributed to einstein: "only two things in the world are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. though i'm not sure about the latter"
The problem with the Millenium Dome for me was that it should never have existed in the first place. For most people in the UK it was too far away to be worth a visit and all that public money that was sunk into it could have been better spent on several smaller projects around the country that could have benefited far more people.
Hey Simon - For this video, the mouseover preview is the word "scary" being highlighted followed by a still image of apples from the Squarespace ad. Just thinking maybe that's not intended.
A pity they, like most, got the year wrong. I know it's an old argument, but I still get angry that something so simple was wrong so much, For those too young to know, the current millennium started on 1st January *_2001_* NOT a year earlier.
Went to the Dome in 2000. The Body exibit was weird and boring, the kids area with ballpit guns was awesome and my favourite bit was the Calm exibit, a sound dampening smooth chamber with relaxing music and colours, likely inspired by the then extremely popular and very stupid Little Book of Calm (which fans of Black Books may know).
I went on a school trip there when I was 15. I quite enjoyed it. To be fair it was my first trip to London so the whole experience of going probably added to the spectacle.
my grandad and uncle worked at the site when it was the gasworks. i had a tree house on the site as a kid. i worked at the local council when it went through the planning process. wondered what what become of it afterwards, what a success it has become. oh and i played hockey with PY, what a great guy. he did what he could with a turd not of his making. now it is the focal point of a new district of London, without the dome, it would still be a back water, now it is one of London's major redevelopment opportunities
The dome is without doubt a landmark, albeit an impractical one. But it’s too close to Canary Wharf to have remained an undeveloped backwater regardless of whether the dome was there or not.
@@andygarwood673 Most of the developments on the riverfront east of Canary Wharf have been built on old industrial sites - if there is money to be made, and developers have contacts with councils and government who can grease the wheels, there’s usually a way.
Since me and Simon are British 🇬🇧 - This 1 is a lot More personal! 👏👏 This is otherwise known as the O2 Arena Also featured in the 1999 film - 007 James Bond - The World is Not enough 👍
Another Channel on which I press the thumbs up before I watch. However, Peter Gabriel - Genesis “Bassist”, that’s a howler, he WAS Genesis, front man, songwriter, singer, creative force. I reckon the Dome should be a centre with a large central stage filled with numerous mediaeval stocks, into which political phonies should be locked. Bliar would still be in one now if there was any justice.
I want a Casual Criminalist podcast about the Millennium Dome diamond heist, I want a Casual Criminalist podcast about the Millennium Dome diamond heist!
"Great news, everybody. We're just building a fantastic new exhibition dome in London, costing a BILLION POUNDS! Just down the road from the new Wembley Stadium we're demolishing because we want to build another one". "Oh, sounds expensive. And what are you going to put in it?" "What are we going to put in it????............errr.............well...........we hadn't quite thought of that............................. How about some vacuous drivel?" "BRILLIANT! That'll show the world how fit for the 21'st Century the British government is!"
We took our three children there in 2000 and we / they had a great time. It's funny how some of The Dome's greatest critics never bothered to go there themselves....
Simon, for the longest time I couldn't figure out who you remind me of. Then it hit me. Captain Kirk from Star Trek the original series. Just in how you express the scripts. Not saying it's bad. I love star trek. I just feel you need the whistle noise everytime you pop in now.
A lot of people said the Blackadder episode was the best thing about it: I didn't see it, because I felt I was there for a "real-life" experience, and hadn't travelled all the way there to spend half an hour watching TV.
My only memory of visiting the Millennium Dome is seeing the heart and getting the fright of my life from the scream. I was 7, hated it then and hated it now 21 years later.
I visited this and loved it. My favourite was the Money zone because there was million pounds displayed in the walls of a room. Gives an idea of how much a million pounds really is!
Could you do a Megaprojects on the Brooklyn Bridge, unless you've already done one. But I was just reading about Emily Roebling, who was the project engineer's wife, and who stepped in when her husband had a disability of some kind, due to decompression sickness. But she finished the project as the first woman field engineer in history. Pretty cool story how it was built, and she was a pretty cool lady.
Its actually really impressive how few of the workers got seriously bent working in the Brooklyn bridge caissons, obviously they probably didn't record just painful bends but the workers were at about 20m for hours before being brought up directly to the surface - crazy!!
I remember my auntie won a day out to the millennium dome when it was new and that body was wired wonder where it is now I was only 11 still remember that day now I am 33
"The centre point for the UK's celebrations"...... if only London was a few hundred miles further north, shame that all the money seems to remain in the South.
We went to the dome and it was a fine day out. Not awesome, but ok. There had been so much negative publicity that it wasn't well attended so the queues were quite short which was good for the attendees if not for the organisers. In all honesty it wouldn't have been that great if we'd had to queue.
Er no, The Hue City scenes in FMJ were filmed at the disused Beckton Gasworks across the river to the north east. (As were several other film and TV productions). This was the only Greater London location. At the time of FMJ filming the dome site was an active working industrial area.
Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/megaprojects for 10% off on your first purchase.
What does your common sense gut feeling tell you? (Psssst, it should be a big fat NO!)
A massive failure.
John Major: It would be a tight deadline to meet but it's achievable so long as a creative director for the project was chosen and nothing politically major happened in between
Tony Blair: *Hello there*
And people thought us having the world's largest stadium for the longest time was ridiculous! The icing on the cake of this whole Millennium Dome drama is the iconic BBC series Blue Peter buried a time capsule under the Dome back in June 1998. They hoped it would stay there until 2050 (they had to dig up another time capsule they originally buried in 1971 twenty years later and buried again at the Television Centre's Blue Peter garden until 2000 because the burial site underwent development)...the time capsule curse continued as due to construction and crew laying cables, the capsule was found in 2017 and accidentally damaged because they first thought it was gold.
Yes, give us a casual criminalist on the dome dimond heist.
Yes this would be awesome!!!! A great cross-over and I love a good heist story... the press must have had a field day with that!
Do not contact the first person in the comments that's now deleted. It's not Simon or his people and it's a scam and they will take your money if you have any.
@@bradbrandon2506 I know, damn scammers are everywhere. TH-cam should really block people from making "contact@/#randommessagerapprippedchannelname accounts
@@bradbrandon2506 they aren't deleted just yet, at least they weren't for me. I initially reflexively gave them a thumbs up on seeing the logo, but quickly realized it was one of those dumb scam/spam accounts and changed to thumbs down and reported it. It disappeared after reporting it, but I bet others can still see it. But fully agreed on the ignore them/etc part, as they clearly are not a real part of the Simonverse
@@ryanc473 exactly correct. I could still see it myself just now until I reported it.
Honestly the dome was built, powered, water management and transport done, the exhibition itself may have been a bit meh but London gained something that's been in use ever since (unlike many exhibition halls around the world) - hardly a failure!
I suppose it wouldn't be unfair to say that it was a failure in its initial iteration, but has matured into something viable.
I thought this was the dome with the most badass Diamond heist attempt ever. Pure brute force. Gotta cover it.
Do not contact that person in the comments. It's not Simon or his team and it's a scam.
It was and to many still is.
Never visited when it was "The Millennium Dome" but the O2 arena is fantastic, and weird how impressive just being under a giant dome feels ^^
As a 6 year old at the time, visiting the Millennium Dome was like visiting a spaceship from the future. I really think my love of science and tech started in that building and I treasure the childhood memories I made there.
I was 10 and it was amazing to me
The nostalgia for those times is so strong
Definitely do a Casual Criminalist on the Dome Diamond heist. I can't wait!
I went in September 2000 when I was eleven. The only thing i remember is the body zone, and being overwhelmed by the size of things. But then it was my first and only trip to London.
"New Year's starts on Caroline Island which is situated just east of the International Date Line" True! Kirbati changed the time of the country's eastern half/the Line Islands six years before 2000 for both administrative purposes (to better unite the wide nation since the western half were a full day ahead of the Line Islands before the change) but also to promote tourism to give people the opportunity to be the first to bring in the new Millennium. This caused the International Date Line to make a very weird, jutting shape so it goes around the islands.
Not True. If the Caroline Islands were just east of the International Date Line, they'd be the LAST to see 1 January 2000 - or any other day for that matter. They are just WEST of the International Date Line (the date line is to the east of the islands), which makes them the SECOND place to see a new day - the first being in Antartica.
@@yumyong3847 Wouldn't the north-pole be simultaneously first? 🤔
@@tubensalat1453 depends on the axis of the earth. Different times of the year the poles get whichever first
@@jamesmaddison4546 I can't make any sense of that. New Year's is always at the same time of year, the date line doesn't bend over the year, ...
Feeling very nostalgic watching, going to the dome was one of my earliest childhood memories. I think that body exhibit traumatised me a little but what little I remember I remember fondly.
FYI, the buyer was a Japaneese investment bank, not O2 who where the sponsors. The "play" area can be found at the brewery in Romford Essex.
Fun fact I worked for buro happold for around 6 months and they manage to bring up the O2 arena in almost every presentation and how it’s one of their greatest feats of engineering
1:11 pitching the tent
3:41 failure to plan, plan to fail
6:00 sponsorship
7:51 the lightest building in the world
11:23 highway to the danger zones
13:26 boats, trains, and acrobats
15:15 roll up, roll up
18:26 was it a failure
@The Insufferable Tool 😜
Thanks for doing a job the people at Megaprojects should have done during editing.
1:15 - Chapter 1 - Pitching the tent
3:45 - Chapter 2 - Failure to plan , plan to fail
6:00 - Mid roll ads
7:55 - Chapter 3 - The lightest building in the world
11:25 - Chapter 4 - Highway to the danger zones
13:30 - Chapter 5 - Boats, trains & acrobats
15:20 - Chapter 6 - Roll up , roll up
18:30 - Chapter 7 - Was it a failure ?
“Genesis bassist”? Peter Gabriel was the lead vocalist, but only in the 70s. A solo artist since.
Today's brilliant sponsor, Squarespace.
And today's squarespace sponsor, Brilliant.
Oh. My god. You solved a mystery of what the heck i saw when i was five on the eve of y2k, it was the one second scene of the dancers, this whole time i thought it was a death cult or something... this brings so much closure 😅
The best bit was definitely the special episode of Blackadder that they made for the event!
The UK didn’t realise when building this that the new millennium wouldn’t sound as exciting in a few years
They should have just built a more fire proof version of the Crystal Palace, made that a celebration of the best of British produce, culture and tech.
Something anyone could point at and go 'oh wow, look at that, its beautiful'. A shimmering Victorianesque building surrounded by a slowly maturing greenspace featuring British flowers and trees. Something that would only be more beautiful when reflected in the water of the Thames River.
Instead we got a... big white blamanche.
Millennium dome sounds like Simon planned it.
The had an idea but kept going off on random tangents and confused everyone 🤣
and designed from his *dome*
for the sake of the London skyline: Simon must not be given a creative director role anywhere!
I went there with my school.
Remember some random cannon things firing balls, and the heart in the body (not the brains?!).
However I DO remember Blackadder Back and Fourth being shown there as part of the visit.
THAT was brilliant!
I went there with my school too and remembering watching Blackadder also is somehow what I remember the most
Genesis Bassist Peter Gabriel? I don't think you're giving him enough credit here :)
Well, it was a great location for a James Bond chase sequence!!! Also, we love going to the O2 for concerts and events. A superb experience with wonderful helpful staff and a nice selection of (chain) hospitality. If you can, try and arrive by Cable car 🙂I remember the 'fraught' birthing
I loved it. I went with school when I was 11 and I remember it being amazing. Not sure I understood the deeper message behind the acrobat show, but it was definitely pretty.
The overall feeling was "it's strangeness, eccentricity, and lack of consistently", really does sum up and celebrate the UK populace.
How did the amazing sponge ball war / jungle gym thing not get a mention?! It was one of the highlights of my childhood lol
School wouldn't let us in, in case we got injured, was fuming xD
Yes this is my overriding memory.
If you want to visit it, it's still in use in Romford, as a soft play company.
@@robertgarrett5009 I think people may take issue with a 33 year old guy running round a soft play area! Would be tempted though! lol
Literally one of the few solid memories I have of the Dome, that and the Blackadder episode they had...
Due to lack of advertising, the 1984 Worlds Fair in New Orleans was a financial flop, although attendees loved it. But did it ever transform the area of the city where it was built. It changed from decay to delightful.
Yes please to that Diamond Heist at the Dome over on Casual Criminalist idea 😃
This needs more likes so we can find out about the heist!
Diamond heist at the dome? Yes please, Casual Cirminanist!
I normally don't comment on issues of accuracy, but something here caught my attention:
1: Peter Gabriel didn't play bass for Genesis: he was their initial vocalist (though he did play a few instruments on occasion);
2. Gabriel left the band in 1975 and arguably is a much more well-known musician due to his solo work.
I know it's a small detail, but accuracy is important when distributing content for public consumption, especially in a documentary-style format.
You touched on the access issues, but part of the concept was that access was only really via public transport or coach, making access difficult to those outside of London (unless on a commuter route).When O2 took over they found space for on-site parking.
I just remember it as that building that James Bond crashed a boat into, and then blew up a hot air balloon over, from The World is Not Enough.
saaaaaaame!
Exactly!!! That’s how I know it haha
This area of London today does work and it’s having new things added all the time. what’s strange about it still however, is that so much of London is really, really old and the dome and surrounding area feel like a peculiar theme park with no connection to anything. it feels like it still lacks creative direction and character.
What, no mention that the Dome was the only place to see `Blackadder - Back and Forth`, admittedly in a cinema next to the Dome, but it was one of the attractions?
It was the only reason I went, as the Dome itself just felt like loads of empty space with trinkets sprinkled around the inside.
Theres a fantastic BBC doc called "Trouble at the Big Top - The Death of the Dome" on TH-cam thats totally worth checking out. Unfettled access to the mismanagement of the Dome. 100% worth the watch. The place was amazing but didn't stand a chance it was run so badly.
I, for one, would welcome a casual criminalist video on the diamond heist
Never heard of this. I was just transfered from Alaska to California in the military so I missed out on a lot of current events, internet wasn't as much of a thing back then.
These things happen ALL THE TIME in the United States. The public often pays for sports arenas and American football stadiums, even though the stadiums and arenas are owned and used by private sports owner billionaires.
"Politics and business do not mix" Amen to that. are you listening America?
I was one of the schools that was able to go on a day out trip to the Dome, was such a huge deal back then
I was lucky enough to be able to go with my family to the Dome in 2000, being about 8, and I VIVIDLY remember bursting into tears in the heart room when the scream went out
I'd be interested to see a video on this channel about the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge. It's almost 24 mi/39 km over open water, supposedly the longest continuous bridge in the world. And it's in New Orleans, so it's been battered by alot of hurricanes in the past 60 years, including getting damaged pretty badly by Hurricane Katrina.
So, regardless of whether or not the Millennial Dome is a failure, the Causeway Bridge might be a video on something that is not a failure 😉
Have you ever traveled on the Pontchartrain bridge? It’s incredible! I lived in Gretna which is on the West Bank of the river just south of the city of New Orleans for a couple of years. The scenery is just gorgeous, white cranes, Cyprus trees & Spanish moss. ❤ These are some of the things I love most about my home state. I too would like to see Simon & team cover it.
On-time AND under-budget... are we sure this is a Megaprojects topic?
The Dome was pretty damn cool, went when I was 12 In October 2000 was an awesome day that's stayed with me ever since. I just love the way the media and culture snobs like Mr in the video here always leave out the experience as common person, Also 6 million paid for tickets made it the busiest paid for tourist attraction in Europe, I don't know how that can be branded a failure. The over estimated visitor numbers were a critical failing, the the project as a whole was right for the time, and I'm pretty sure with the 20% Profit sharing deal on the O2 site the government negotiated will when all is said and done cover the costs.
By 'culture snobs' you mean adults. You were 12 years old, and that is the age group that most of the main exhibits were aimed at. I was 36 when I went and it was like visiting a shiny, new, indoor Blackpool. The kindest comment I can say about it is that it was underwhelming.
The stupidest thing that nobody realised was that if it was supposed to celebrate the dawning of a new millennium, it was a whole year early!
The year 2000 was actually the LAST year of the 20th century therefore the new millennium would be 2000 going into 2001.
I was a local resident and visited it and it was bland, disjointed and frankly disappointing, even though I had delivered supplies to a couple of contractors working on the site.
The only thing that stands out for me is the fact that the entire structure weighs less than the air contained inside
I was very conscious of it being a year too early, but was anybody else listening? I remember the Astronomer Royal being interviewed about how the millenium was being marked at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, where lavish celebrations were planned. He was asked what he thought of people who said it was a year too early. His reply: "well, actually, they are right, but we need the money".
I think I remember TechTV sindicated a robotics competition for middle/highschool students that took place at the dome around the turn of the millennium.
The thing I remember was loads of people complaining about the government wasting loads of tax payers money on a giant tent when at the time there was tens of thousands of homeless people desperately needing housing. . Its not changed a lot now tbh.
Yes! Please give us a casual criminalist about the dome diamond heist!
Yes, please do the diamond heist
I don't know how true it was but when I lived in London in the early 2000s a big deal was being made about the fact that even though the dome was 'closed' with nothing going on inside much till o2 bought it, it was costing £1,000,000 per day in maintenance costs.
At the end of the day, they had to call in A certian Scottish haulier to finish the build!
I looked at it and thought, "Is it finished yet? Are those crane things permanent?"
haha yea! i used to see photos of it and wondered why they left a hole on one side too. that said, The Shard looks kind of unfinished too😂
My parents went there about 3-5 years after opening and they really were impressed. I think they said it was a combination of different types of displays. By the time I went to London I think it had been converted into a concert venue.
I will always love auto-generated subtitles. Small ones but many twisting the video into a bit of a different story.
"political inviting" (1:02),
"the law was riding on this project" (2:30),
"all being erected between the 13th and the 30th of October 1927." (9:54),
"the deficient workforce of 1500 people" (11:07),
"top designers are now Mage corporate sponsorship" (13:04),
"it couldn't be all smooth saving" (13:09),
"cues intensified, notice boards displaying useless information fueled a rape parents" (14:20)
"it meant no Wars around to fix any issues" (16:39)
Delightful as usual, Simon. Thank you.
You should do a biography about finnish founding father, president and war hero Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim. He is rated as the most important person in Finnish history.
I agree
No.
And like, so so so many weapons are named after him. It's insane
That's like being the most important stone in a bag of rocks
I hate to be “that” guy… but isn’t it “Finish”?
My college choir sang there on a tour. One thing I do remember was the accoustics were absolute garbage. Otherwise it just seemed like an oversized children's museum. I liked some of the features like capturing rainwater from the roof for greywater use. But otherwise, meh. Nothing too exciting.
"politics and business do not mix"
and noone listened to him...
there was this quote that was probably also atrributed to einstein:
"only two things in the world are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. though i'm not sure about the latter"
17:30 Genesis "bassist" Peter Gabriel?
Looks like a circus tent in hell.
The problem with the Millenium Dome for me was that it should never have existed in the first place. For most people in the UK it was too far away to be worth a visit and all that public money that was sunk into it could have been better spent on several smaller projects around the country that could have benefited far more people.
Pretty sure *any* engineer would tell you that a schedule or project that needs *everything* to go right to work is a recipe for disaster.
Best to have at least a little wiggle room in the schedule and budget for any major construction project!
Hey Simon - For this video, the mouseover preview is the word "scary" being highlighted followed by a still image of apples from the Squarespace ad. Just thinking maybe that's not intended.
A pity they, like most, got the year wrong. I know it's an old argument, but I still get angry that something so simple was wrong so much, For those too young to know, the current millennium started on 1st January *_2001_* NOT a year earlier.
Went to the Dome in 2000. The Body exibit was weird and boring, the kids area with ballpit guns was awesome and my favourite bit was the Calm exibit, a sound dampening smooth chamber with relaxing music and colours, likely inspired by the then extremely popular and very stupid Little Book of Calm (which fans of Black Books may know).
Dome was open before 31st Dec 1999, I went with my mum because we was part of the "test group"
I remember nothing but the kids climbing frame
I went on a school trip there when I was 15. I quite enjoyed it. To be fair it was my first trip to London so the whole experience of going probably added to the spectacle.
my grandad and uncle worked at the site when it was the gasworks. i had a tree house on the site as a kid. i worked at the local council when it went through the planning process. wondered what what become of it afterwards, what a success it has become. oh and i played hockey with PY, what a great guy. he did what he could with a turd not of his making. now it is the focal point of a new district of London, without the dome, it would still be a back water, now it is one of London's major redevelopment opportunities
The dome is without doubt a landmark, albeit an impractical one. But it’s too close to Canary Wharf to have remained an undeveloped backwater regardless of whether the dome was there or not.
@@kardy12 I doubt anyone else would of picked up the site clean up costs…
@@andygarwood673
Most of the developments on the riverfront east of Canary Wharf have been built on old industrial sites - if there is money to be made, and developers have contacts with councils and government who can grease the wheels, there’s usually a way.
Since me and Simon are British 🇬🇧 - This 1 is a lot More personal! 👏👏
This is otherwise known as the O2 Arena
Also featured in the
1999 film - 007 James Bond - The World is Not enough 👍
The World is Not Enough is where iknow it from
Another Channel on which I press the thumbs up before I watch.
However, Peter Gabriel - Genesis “Bassist”, that’s a howler, he WAS Genesis, front man, songwriter, singer, creative force.
I reckon the Dome should be a centre with a large central stage filled with numerous mediaeval stocks, into which political phonies should be locked. Bliar would still be in one now if there was any justice.
Please do one on that failed robbery
I want a Casual Criminalist podcast about the Millennium Dome diamond heist, I want a Casual Criminalist podcast about the Millennium Dome diamond heist!
Always thought the building looked more like a half buried sea mine....
"Great news, everybody. We're just building a fantastic new exhibition dome in London, costing a BILLION POUNDS! Just down the road from the new Wembley Stadium we're demolishing because we want to build another one".
"Oh, sounds expensive. And what are you going to put in it?"
"What are we going to put in it????............errr.............well...........we hadn't quite thought of that............................. How about some vacuous drivel?"
"BRILLIANT! That'll show the world how fit for the 21'st Century the British government is!"
We took our three children there in 2000 and we / they had a great time. It's funny how some of The Dome's greatest critics never bothered to go there themselves....
I don’t know how much entertainment I’d derive from the Millennium Dome Experience, but I can’t say that I don’t find it utterly fascinating
Simon, for the longest time I couldn't figure out who you remind me of. Then it hit me. Captain Kirk from Star Trek the original series. Just in how you express the scripts. Not saying it's bad. I love star trek. I just feel you need the whistle noise everytime you pop in now.
Do a video on the Diamond heist please.
Never got a chance to visit in the 2000s but it's a great and iconic venue now
Isn't that the building that messed up 007's shoulder in The World Is Not Enough?
I visited it on my 16th birthday. It was insipid. The best part was the new Blackadder episode.
A lot of people said the Blackadder episode was the best thing about it: I didn't see it, because I felt I was there for a "real-life" experience, and hadn't travelled all the way there to spend half an hour watching TV.
At 16 you were too old. I was 36, so imagine how I felt.
Another diamond heist, I think we're due for another diamond heist in the casual criminalist. I'm down. Make it happen, please.
My only memory of visiting the Millennium Dome is seeing the heart and getting the fright of my life from the scream. I was 7, hated it then and hated it now 21 years later.
Dome diamond heist video please.
I visited this and loved it. My favourite was the Money zone because there was million pounds displayed in the walls of a room. Gives an idea of how much a million pounds really is!
Which spoiler alert, is probably the minimum price of a decent apartment in London
@@futeramonfuturamet4830 😆😆😆
Could you do a Megaprojects on the Brooklyn Bridge, unless you've already done one. But I was just reading about Emily Roebling, who was the project engineer's wife, and who stepped in when her husband had a disability of some kind, due to decompression sickness. But she finished the project as the first woman field engineer in history. Pretty cool story how it was built, and she was a pretty cool lady.
Its actually really impressive how few of the workers got seriously bent working in the Brooklyn bridge caissons, obviously they probably didn't record just painful bends but the workers were at about 20m for hours before being brought up directly to the surface - crazy!!
I remember the daily pisstake "Dome watch" on the Big breakfast. "OH MY GOD! LOOK! SOMEONE IS WORKING!"
Please do the Casual Criminalist episode you mentioned 🙏🏾
“Politics and business do not mix.” A lesson we continually fail to learn
What with lobbying and cronyism running rampant!
I remember my auntie won a day out to the millennium dome when it was new and that body was wired wonder where it is now I was only 11 still remember that day now I am 33
If the plan was to rejuvenate the area, it seems to have done quite well?
yep. the whole area and the dome is very different now. it’s an odd place but definitely working
I saw the dome in a James Bond movie years back, "The World Is Not Enough---1999." It's big.
"The centre point for the UK's celebrations"...... if only London was a few hundred miles further north, shame that all the money seems to remain in the South.
Yet another example of London Centric UK government
So you missed the bit where it was torn apart by gales earlier this year?
Went here on my last trip with Primary School and it was a complete fever dream of a place.
Not even a cameo in a James Bond film could save it.
We went to the dome and it was a fine day out. Not awesome, but ok. There had been so much negative publicity that it wasn't well attended so the queues were quite short which was good for the attendees if not for the organisers. In all honesty it wouldn't have been that great if we'd had to queue.
FYI part of Full Metal Jacket was filmed there before they cleaned up the site and built the dome aka O2 arena
Er no, The Hue City scenes in FMJ were filmed at the disused Beckton Gasworks across the river to the north east. (As were several other film and TV productions). This was the only Greater London location. At the time of FMJ filming the dome site was an active working industrial area.