A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

STOP PRESS: Millennium Dome to be used for ESF Accomodation!

Quite how the Guardian gets this scoop before the information is made public through the ESF organising email lists and committees is beyond me (ah no hold on, they're a "media partner").

Anyway this is truly quite astounding! Looks like £10 for three nights. This should sort out all of the ESF accomodation crisis on one fell sweep, amazing!

Dome from home for 5,000 activists

Tania Branigan
Friday October 8, 2004
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1322600,00.html

It might not boast the cachet of staying at the Ritz or Savoy, but 5,000 backpackers will be bedding down at one of the most exclusive addresses in London next week, turning the Millennium Dome into the world's biggest youth hostel.

The much-mocked attraction is to be turned into a dormitory for thousands of activists and young people travelling from across the continent for the European Social Forum.

Like many of the capital's residents, the mayor appears surprised - or perhaps just relieved - that someone has found a use for the great white elephant of Greenwich.

"I have always considered the dome to be one of London's most beautiful structures and I knew it would be very useful at some point," Ken Livingstone said yesterday.

"Those who stay there will take back a view of London they will never forget."

There will be plenty of room for delegates from the "global justice" conference to unfurl their sleeping bags in the dome, which covers an area the size of eight football pitches. Its contents were auctioned off after its closure, but toilets remain and temporary showers will be installed.

The mayor's office said it could not discuss the cost of the scheme as it was still in negotiations with English Partnerships, the agency overseeing the dome.

The fee is likely to run well into six figures, but should be covered by a £10 accommodation charge and the £25 fee for affiliation to the conference.

The Greater London authority has already arranged free travel passes for delegates and has given £400,000 to the forum from existing budgets.

The four-day event is believed to be the largest conference to take place in London. Organisers predict that around 20,000 individuals and delegates from trade unions, charities and community groups will attend hundreds of seminars and workshops.

It opens next Thursday, when speakers, including Mr Livingstone, Gerry Adams and Aleida Guevara, Che Guevara's daughter, will address a rally at Southwark cathedral. The Guardian is a media partner for the forum.

One Amazing Day!

Comments

Hide the following 7 comments

Oh, please!

08.10.2004 15:00

Sounds like a load of old tosh to me!

Zinga

Why TOSH?

08.10.2004 15:44

Zinga. You just feel despair don't you that those people actually managed to pull it off and that right wing "I'd be happy to cross a picket line" ken livingstone would actually do this for us.

Well, it's happened. And it's great.

But what gives me the feeling that you would rather just see the whole thing collapse?

People's Front of Judea
mail e-mail: circular@firing.squad.(dis)org

Oh, please! (pt2)

08.10.2004 17:21

ooh dear! Bit touchy there, aren't we?

I intended the comment as a bit tongue in cheek, but, hey never mind.

If it is all true, then I commend them on their resourcefulness and for putting the Dome into service for something socially useful for a change.

As to whether I want to see the whole thing collapse, well no, actually, although perhaps you should get some humour surgery, so you could understand why I thought I the whole thing was quite surreal (and not a bit ironic either)!

Let's just just hope that the ESF this time won't be dominated by newspaper sellers, as their brand of revolution is well past its sell-by date, not really taking into account the world we actually live in today, as it does(n't).

Zinga Blinga Dinga Donga

its gonna be good

10.10.2004 07:08

However much we have worried about the involvement of Ken Livingstone and the exlclusion of loads of voices from this years ESF process, the idea of staying at the Dome for about 3 quid a night is absolutely excellent! I can't wait to stay there. The institutional left may not understand about the ESF charter and principles, but they can sure pull off whats needed when necessary. Sorted.

Krop

What a laugh

10.10.2004 16:10

Christ you a-a-anarchists must have your head in the sand even deeper than usual. Chris Nineham mentioned this was on the cards weeks ago. But I guess its not suprising you are so distant from the event. You 'horizontals' didnt want the ESF to come to the UK in the first placed and opposed it from the beginning. When it was inevitable you tried to shit stir and red bate at every opportunity. Well you have failed miserably and its going to be a massive success.

Congrads to all those who worked their fingers to the bone to organise it amid the pathetic heckling of a bitter (and rapidly shrinking) minority :-)

Jake20

A Lack of Confidence and Trust

10.10.2004 23:31

The Dome, great! How ironic, it being New Labours baby.

Last weeks stories of accommodation crisis, published in these pages probably forced Ken and his Lieutenant's arse's into serious, accommodation finding gear. Hope they pull it off.

Past ESF's have funded the horizontals, but unfortunately because of ...(fill in this bit in yourself)..., not this time. Some appreciation for the variety, and quality, of events they have organised should be given due credit.

Its well to remember that the vast majority of the 'Official' ESF is chosen and planned and organised by the groups who take part, excepting booking the rooms and some accommodation. The event is essentially self-organising. It’s extraordinary to see what is being put on during what is the largest conference in Europe, plus the many artistic events..

The small number of meetings (plenary) put on by the ESF organising committee, itself, promises to be events where, with the odd exception, lost sleep can made up.

I think the main problem has been that some whose desire was to dominate the organising process did not have sufficient confidence in their own political tradition to trust other ones, or to trust other individuals that are not fully committed to their own gods. I hope that is vague enough not to finger anyone in parttroticular.

It would be best if the ESF and the Beyond supported and mixed in with each other . Surely serious minded left activists - who think beyond any understandably negative initial knee jerk reaction - do not want to see any of the events fail.

Harry Hamlet

Delusions of involvement by the NANA's (non-aligned non-activists)

11.10.2004 08:45

_________________________________________________________________________________________
"Last weeks stories of accommodation crisis, published in these pages probably forced Ken and his Lieutenant's arse's into serious, accommodation finding gear"
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Yes I am sure it was their close monitoring of Indymedia that alerted them to this at the last moment, prompting a quick trip in their time machine back a couple of months to initiate negotiations about getting hold of the Dome.