Gift to the Future
See our brutalist buildings transformed with a giant poetry installation created by thousands of brilliant school pupils.
Over 90 lines of poetry created with thousands of children from across London, Birmingham and Manchester are realised on an epic scale on our site.
As part of our 75th anniversary school project, Imagine the Future, we’ve been diving into creative writing projects with incredible groups of young people, inviting them to express their hopes and dreams for the future.
Inspired by the 1951 Festival of Britain and led by renowned poet Lemn Sissay and a team of inspirational poet educators, the project aims to ignite a love for poetry.
As you wander around the site, look out for the lines of poetry from each participating class. Working with design studio SOUP, the installation captures the students’ ideas and turns them into part of the fabric of our site.
The project has been delivered by Southbank Centre, in partnership with Midlands Art Centre (MAC) and Factory International. Poets involved in the project: Grace Atkinson, Griot Gabriel (Gabriel Oyediwura), Arji Manuelpillai, Astra Papachristodoulou, Lemn Sissay, Bradley Taylor and James Wilkes. It has included teacher training, in-school poetry workshops with professional poets, and concludes with this celebration at the Southbank Centre.
Supported by Apple, the Southbank Centre’s 75th-anniversary schools programme features two flagship national projects: Imagine the Future and Reframe: Inspire Schools. While primary students craft visual poetry and secondary students design multimedia digital zines using Apple technology, both projects are united by a shared commitment to upskilling educators. Through dedicated training, teachers across both programmes are equipped with the digital design skills to champion their students’ voices in the classroom and beyond.
Need to know
Times & tickets
Dates, times and prices
Dates & times
15 Aug – 27 Sep 2026
Standard entry
Free – no ticket required
Concessions
Learn more about concession discounts
Refunds and exchanges
Find out more about our refund and exchange policy
Make a donation
Help us open up the arts to everyone by making a one-off or a recurring donation.
For your visit
This event is held at the Riverside Terrace Southbank Centre
The Riverside Terrace is open all day, every day*.
*If you’re attending an event on our Riverside Terrace, check the event listing for start and finish times.
Plan your visit
The Riverside Terrace is an outdoor space overlooking the River Thames, on Royal Festival Hall, Level 2.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
Through the glass from Riverside Terrace on Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.