250,000 welcome back Festival Hall

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Crowds poured onto the South Bank for a series of free events to celebrate the completion of the venue's £111 million refurbishment.

The programme, called Overture, started on Friday with 800 choral singers sailing up the Thames on candlelit barges, performing a work composed for the occasion by Orlando Gough.

On Saturday night, more than 3,000 people danced in silence on the Riverside Terrace - as they watched a film of people dancing in the same place in 1951, when the hall opened for the Festival Of Britain.

A spectacular light show projected onto the outside of the festival hall recounted the history of concerts and performances at the venue.

Among the 130 events were a mass busking session with Billy Bragg, and a performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the Ballroom. Former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker was DJ in the main auditorium.

Jude Kelly, the venue's artistic director said: "We have been overwhelmed by the extraordinary response to the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall.

"Every performance this weekend blazed with quality, revealing the untapped creative power of people in this country." About 24,000 tickets had been given away for the event.

Celebrations continue tonight with the grand opening gala concert, featuring music by Beethoven, Stravinksy and Ravel.

The hall has been modernised, with better acoustics, more legroom in the auditorium and under-seat air conditioning.