15.56, Monday 10 Apr 2000

Hey, I went to the Millennium Dome on Saturday.
 
I can't describe how excellent it was (although I'm going to give it a go). I've never been anywhere like it. The Dome was so Now - museums always put you in the context of history; a world Expo is always really futuristic, but the Dome is such a product of our time it's fantastic. And gutsy too! There was a show in the middle of the day, in the middle of the dome, and it was contempary dance. And really good too.
 
Okay, let me try to explain this: The Dome is huge. My eyes played tricks when I walked in and it didn't look that big (you can't tell the size from outside because the roof curved so much its much foreshortened). But then I looked up when I moved and the roof didn't seem to move by perspective as much as it should have done. That was when I realised that things were a whole lot further away than I realised. Right, so you've got all this space. The space doesn't mean anything until something defines it, gives it boundaries. The main show took place mainly in the air, and two people dancing together suspended in this vast space, above and in front of everyone there - well, it was beautiful, it really was.
 
The exhibits impressed me too. There was so much optimism. Each Zone has a theme, like Work or Journey, and it tries to represent what that theme means for us, today. By what it chooses to tell us, you can deduce the philosophy of the Dome, and it's positive: socially inclusive, multicultural, environmental. And what isn't it? It's not empire bound or nationalistic. The Rest Zone was simply a large cavernous room playing gentle ambient music (computer generated to last 1000 years) while strong coloured lights illuminate the ceiling and walls. The public sit in the room. People at the door ask you to be quiet as you go in (that would never happen at Disney). It shows such faith in people that the organisers have devoted an area to this kind of exhibit. I'll be going again, before it closes at the end of the year, mainly to see the show again. Wow.