Millennium Dome (Hansard, 11 January 1999)

§ The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)
My Lords, I visited the Millennium Dome last week, shortly after my appointment. Very few people, if any, who have visited or seen the Dome can fail to be impressed. It is a triumph of British design, architecture, engineering and construction. The construction of the Millennium Experience Dome at Greenwich continues to be on time and on budget.
Installation of the foundations and steelworks for the Dome's exhibits began on schedule in late autumn last year. Development of the detailed design for each exhibit and other aspects of the Dome's content is progressing to programme. The body and the mind exhibits, revealed at the 400-day mark last November, provide tempting glimpses of the quality, innovation and fun which will be offered throughout the millennium experience in the Dome during the year 2000.
We remain confident that the millennium experience will be the once-in-a-lifetime event which will place the UK firmly at the centre of the world stage in the new millennium.

§ Baroness Rendell of Babergh
My Lords, I thank my noble and learned friend for his enthusiastic reply and at the same time congratulate him on his appointment as Minister responsible for the Dome. Can he tell me whether sponsorship contributions to the Dome have been satisfactory? Also, how much more is needed to reach the target of £150 million?

§ Lord Falconer of Thoroton
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for her kind congratulations. As she says, the target for sponsorship is £150 million. 5 The position is that £120 million has already been raised and the remaining £30 million will be comfortably raised in the moderately near future. We believe that sponsors are right behind the Dome.

§ Lord Luke
My Lords, from these Benches I associate myself with the noble Baroness, Lady Rendell, in welcoming the Minister to his new and onerous responsibilities. I hope that he has had time to consider access to the Dome. However successful it is, access to the Dome is vital. If the final section of the Jubilee Line extension opens on schedule in October, is the Minister satisfied that three months is enough to iron out possible teething troubles that can occur with a lot of new technology? What contingency plans are there to get 20,000 people away from the Dome if there is a major breakdown in transport?

§ Lord Falconer of Thoroton
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his kind congratulations. I recognise that the job will be hard but I regard it as a genuine privilege to be invited to join the Millennium Dome team. As regards access to the Dome, I have sought to acquaint myself with the position. The Jubilee Line extension will connect central London—namely Waterloo—and North Greenwich, the site of the Dome in summer 1999. It is expected that by the end of October 1999, Waterloo will be connected with Green Park, completing the Jubilee Line extension. I am confident that that is more than enough time for the service to be up and running so that it can bring visitors to the Dome.

§ The Lord Bishop of Wakefield
My Lords, in the light of the welcome progress being made in the design of the spirit zone with its greater emphasis on the significance of Christianity for this country and the place being accorded to other faith communities, does it remain the intention of the Government to reflect the significance of the millennium for Christians in other parts of the Dome, and in particular in the opening ceremonies?

§ Lord Falconer of Thoroton
My Lords, I recognise the obvious significance of the millennium celebrations to the Christian religion. I believe that considerable work and effort have gone into making the spirit zone acceptable to the Christian religion as well as to other faiths, and that such significance will be reflected in the celebrations on 31st December 1999.

The Viscount of Falkland
My Lords, can the Minister tell us a little more about the shortfall on sponsorship? Is £150 million seen as the necessary overall figure or are certain zones or components of the Millennium Dome not attracting sponsorship? Can he enlighten us on that?

§ Lord Falconer of Thoroton
My Lords, I think it would be quite wrong to describe it as a shortfall. The process of raising sponsorship for the Dome has 6 gone according to plan. We have £120 million of the £150 million sought. I do not think there will be any difficulty in raising the remaining £30 million.

§ Lord Peyton of Yeovil
My Lords, my congratulations to the Minister on his new office will at least be tempered with sympathy and concern as to how that may affect the noble and learned Lord's future.

§ Lord Falconer of Thoroton
My Lords, as ever I am grateful to the noble Lord for his sympathy and concern, which I believe is misplaced. I feel sure that the Millennium Dome will be a great success and I shall make every contribution to try to achieve that.

§ Lord Monkswell
My Lords, is my noble and learned friend aware that my wife and I took the opportunity yesterday of going to east London and viewing the Dome—admittedly from a slight distance? We were both very impressed. However, we noticed a regular-shaped hole in the roof on the west side. Is my son right in thinking that that is for the purpose of inserting the exhibits or is there some other reason for it?

§ Lord Falconer of Thoroton
My Lords, I did not know that the noble Lord and his wife went to east London on Sunday, but I am grateful to hear it. I am not acquainted with the detail of the particular hole that he has in mind. I shall make inquiries and hope that there is no problem related to it.

§ Lord Glentoran
My Lords, is the Minister aware that less than 25 per cent. of the Millennium Commission's funds have gone to the Dome? Although the millennium is a spectacular happening for London, is he aware that Millennium Commission projects will be celebrating the occasion on over 3,000 sites throughout the country?

§ Lord Falconer of Thoroton
My Lords, I am aware of that. I am grateful to the noble Lord for pointing out that the millennium celebrations will take place not just in London but throughout the nation. We believe that the celebrations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be a great credit to the nation as a whole.