United Kingdom
National Day : August 5, 1988
Agreement to participate : 24 September 1984
Commissioner - General : Mr Hugh Tunnell
Pavilion : 2100 square metres
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The British Pavilion at World Expo '88 had plenty to keep people occupied, both inside and outside of the pavilion.

Firstly, visitors in the queue were entertained daily by the best of British musicals with a song-and-dance troupe; guests could rest their feet and fill themselves with the best of British fair in the adjoining Tudor-style British pub, 'The Britannia Inn', (now a popular restaurant in central Brisbane); and one could shop to your heart's content at the Pavilion souvenir shop.

Inside, a kaleidoscopic multi-media presentation entitled the Electronic Crystal presented a myriad of illuminated images relating to British day-to-day life; and guests endured the lines to gain a glimpse of what it was like inside the 3-D 'Prokon Simulator' - a 'moving and shaking' 14-seat capsule that took one on a ride on a car rally, roller-coaster, hang-glider, and motorbike. 

The walls of the Pavilion cleverly featured the latest in lesiure transport - from high-performance kayaks to bicycles, hang gliders, speedsters, and motorbikes - as well as a model of the latest in scram-jet ultra-sonic airspace technology from British Aerospace.

Also well remembered was the spectacular cultural program adjoining the British Pavilion representation at Expo - culminating with the UK National Day and British Week.

Some of Britain's finest companies in the performing arts - the Royal Ballet - performing Swan Lake and a triple bill Rhapsody, Rite of Spring and Still Life at the Penguin Cafe; and, the English Shakespeare Company with the historic The War of the Roses cycle over a marathon four evenings and three matinee performances - Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V, Henry VI House of Lancaster, Henry VI House of York, and Richard III - brought the Best of British to Brisbane's shores - all under the banner of the World Expo on Stage program at the nearby Queensland Performing Arts Complex (for more information, visit the Entertainment pages on this site).

This was topped off by a special 'antipodes' version of the 'British Proms' - held at the Expo River Stage for the Great Britain National Day evening concert - joined by UK National Day VIP Prime-Minister of Great Britain the Rt Hon Ms Margaret Thatcher - who enjoyed the evening singing to her heart's content from the VIP Balcony of the Australian Pavilion - the best seats in the house.

Read Baroness Thatcher's Speech for British National Day at World Expo '88 - here - at the Thatcher Foundation website


Did you know?

Did you know that the popular Britannia Inn was re-created in the centre of Brisbane at the Wintergarden Shopping Centre complex after the conclusion of Expo? Still trading as The Britannia Inn, one can visit today for traditional British fair - pork pie, stout, and shepherd's pie, all in the thick atmosphere of a Tudor village inn. One can easily find the Wintergarden just next to Brisbane's Hilton Hotel, on the Queen Street Mall.



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