Memories of Meltdown
We’re opening up our archives to take a look at our Meltdown archive collection – and you’re invited to have a browse and curate your own dream Meltdown.
Come and meet our Archive team, and check out material from past years of the UK’s longest-running artist-curated music festival, including programmes, press, photographs, posters and much more.
After looking at all the material, we invite you to curate your own Meltdown: who will you choose to grace the stages? What will your theme be, and what will make your Meltdown special?
We also want to hear your memories of Meltdowns through the years. Have you been to any previous Meltdowns? Want to be a part of Meltdown’s history? Here’s your chance to become part of the Southbank Centre Archive by sharing your impressions of concerts in the festival over the past 30 years.
Our archive holds 1.4 kilometres of memories about performances, exhibitions and events from the creation of the Southbank Centre site in 1951 to the present day. It holds documents, oral histories, programmes, artworks and objects from across the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery.
Need to know
The space may be loud and busy. A quiet space is available during this event.
For your visit
This event is held at the Archive Studio Southbank Centre
Our Archive Studio is located on Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall.
Exhibitions at the Archive Studio are open six days a week.
Tuesday, 10am – 6pm
Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.
Plan your visit
The Archive Studio is located in our Royal Festival Hall which is also home to our largest auditorium as well as The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe and Skylon restaurant.
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.
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.