By 2022, when Theresa May’s proposed Festival of Britain is due to take place, our beleaguered Prime Minister may belong to the history books.
But although it is easy to sneer, Mrs May’s plan for a major patriotic jamboree post-Brexit – the ‘Great Brexihibition’ as some are calling it –strikes me as an unimpeachably good idea.
At a time when commentators are complaining how divided we are, and when the United Kingdom itself has often seemed dangerously fragile, it makes sense to remind ourselves what we have achieved and what we stand for.
I am well aware, of course, that an expensive party organised by politicians could easily turn into an embarrassing disaster.
Theresa May’s plan for a major patriotic jamboree post Brexit strikes me as an unimpeachably good idea
But the first Festival of Britain, organised by Clement Attlee’s Labour government in 1951, suggests it could equally well prove a glorious success.
Sponsored by the Attlee government to mark the anniversary of the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Festival was notable for its patriotism, optimism and moral mission.
From the space-age Skylon tower on London’s South Bank to the ultra-patriotic Lion and the Unicorn pavilion, which included manuscripts of Shakespeare and the King James Bible and paintings by Gainsborough, Constable and Turner, it seized the public imagination.
Despite miserable weather, almost 10 million people – a quarter of the entire population – visited the South Bank in just six months.
After years of austerity, the Festival of Britain had given a ‘lift to the heart’, according to one newsreel.
What can we learn, then, from its success? First, that there is no point having a patriotic festival if you aren’t going to be patriotic.
So Mrs May’s new Festival should unashamedly revel in our history. No crawling apologies for the slave trade, please.
Mrs May’s festival should amaze us with the potential of technology to improve people’s lives
Second, the 2022 festival should be optimistic. We love to do ourselves down, but Britain remains one of the richest, safest and most scientifically inventive countries in the world.
So Mrs May’s festival, like its predecessor, should amaze us with the potential of technology to improve people’s lives.
Finally, a good party needs an enlightened despot to run it. The Festival of Britain benefited from the ruthless leadership of Labour’s Herbert Morrison, as well as the architectural vision of Hugh Casson, who was determined to make it a showcase for the future.
The Festival of Britain benefited from the ruthless leadership of Labour’s Herbert Morrison (pictured)
Similarly, the opening ceremony for the Olympic in 2012 benefited from the creative dictatorship of Danny Boyle, who was free to craft a hugely imaginative, individual and inspiring vision without interference from Whitehall committees.
Of course, not everybody approved of that lachrymose NHS section. But isn’t it better to say something than nothing?
The obvious contrast is with that byword for national humiliation, New Labour’s Millennium Dome.
Originally launched by Michael Heseltine, this fell into the clutches of Morrison’s grandson Peter Mandelson, under whom it descended into bureaucratic nothingness.
The obvious contrast is with that byword for national humiliation, New Labour’s Millennium Dome (pictured)
The opening ceremony for the Olympic in 2012 (pictured) benefited from the creative dictatorship of Danny Boyle,
Unlike the Festival or the Olympic opening, the Dome lacked any patriotic flavour. Designed by committee, it might have been in Luxembourg, not in London.
Its exhibitions were empty and uninspiring, while its themes, such as ‘Journey’ and ‘Shared Ground’, were politically correct waffle.
The lessons are obvious. If Mrs May wants her new Festival to emulate 1951 rather than 2000, she should find a presiding genius who is prepared to embrace the spirit of patriotism and concentrate on the twin themes of history and science.
Crucially, she cannot allow it to become a giant exercise in lazy, bien-pensant BBC box ticking.
People don’t want to be patronised about ‘diversity’, they don’t need lecturing about transgender rights, and they certainly won’t pay good money to be told how dreadful their country is.
Assuming that Danny Boyle has directed enough national jamborees for one lifetime, I would back the former British Museum chief Neil MacGregor – said to be in the running – whose TV and radio documentaries have enchanted millions, to run it.
I’d tell him to make it patriotic, inspiring and exciting, and I’d give him the freedom to do what he wants.
A new Dome would be a national disaster. But a new Festival of Britain? I’d gladly pay to see that.
I would back the former British Museum chief Neil MacGregor (pictured) whose TV and radio documentaries have enchanted millions, to run it