§ Sir W. Darlingasked the Lord President of the Council what instructions he has given to the Central Office of Information as to the issue of periodical information on the progress of the Festival of Britain project; and when the next announcement will be made.
§ Mr. H. MorrisonThe Festival of Britain Office—not the Central Office of Information—is responsible for the issue of periodical information on the progress of the Festival of Britain. No date is fixed for the next announcement, but statements will be issued from time to time as plans progress.
§ Sir W. Darlingasked the Lord President of the Council in what way centres of population, other than London, are being linked up with the Festival of Britain, 1951.
§ Mr. H. MorrisonIn addition to the arrangements for holding the Exhibition of Technology in Glasgow, there are two main ways in which centres of population, other than London, are being linked officially with the Festival of Britain, 1951; the reception of a small selective edition of the main Festival Exhibition (to be held on the South Bank of the Thames) which is to travel round the country during the Festival period; and the holding of official Festivals of the Arts. The travelling exhibition is to be constructed in duplicate, one edition moving by land and the other on a specially converted aircraft carrier, the "Campania," kindly lent by the Admiralty. The cities and towns which are to be visited by the land-borne and sea-borne editions of the travelling 31W exhibition respectively are: Birmingham, Bristol, Belfast, Cardiff, Dundee, Greenock, Hull, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Plymouth, Southampton, and the Menai Straits.
The centres chosen for official Festivals of the Arts include the following towns already holding annual Festivals in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain: Aldeburgh, Bath, Brighton, Canterbury, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Stratford on Avon, Worcester. In addition four centres have been selected to promote Festivals especially for 1951: Liverpool, York, Norwich and Bournemouth. It is hoped that Bournemouth Festival will have a notably regional flavour, and that Salisbury and Southampton and possibly also Winchester will co-operate in the enterprise.
It is hoped that all towns and villages will add their own activities in ways most appropriate to their needs and capacities.
The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Committees are also promoting festival activities within their respective areas.
§ Sir W. Darlingasked the Lord President of the Council at what ports in the United Kingdom the Festival ship "Campania" will call during the Festival of Britain 1951.
32W
§ Mr. H. MorrisonI would refer the hon. Member to my reply to his preceding Question.