Blog Entry #2

Living in London today, it is easy to observe and understand why the metropolitan is known as the “world’s city.” The amount of nationalities, languages and cultures within London are so incredibly abundant that I often find myself surprised if I hear someone answer the phone in a British accent on the bus or if I meet someone who is actually from England. Often, Londoners will tell you that the amount of diversity in the city is a recent phenomena, that the demographics have changed vastly over the last 30 years or so. However, while there may be truth to a newfound rise in multiculturalism within London, our class visit to the Prince Albert Memorial allowed to me realize that London has, for centuries, been the world’s promoter of other cultures, customs and goods.

The Prince Albert Memorial, commissioned by Queen Victoria to commemorate her love for her husband, stands tall and intricate, the detailing around Albert himself giving homage to the worldly nature of the Prince and the city in which he ruled. At the four corners of the statute are sculptures representing the four corners of the world, while closer to the Prince are depictions of various sectors of the arts and sciences. Most importantly, Albert is grasping a brochure for the World's Fair in his hand. In its’ entirety, the statute of Prince Albert, commissioned almost two centuries ago, stands as a physical representation of England’s (but more specifically, London) commitment to spreading the cultures and goods of the world near and far. Our visit to the Memorial helped me to understand that even in the nineteenth century, London was an imperial country looking to further society and provide links between nations and across the globe. The World’s Fair of 1851, the first of its’ kind, was the brainchild of Prince Albert, who sought to bring the best goods that countries had to offer to London and give people a chance to experience the different arts and cultures of places all over the world. While the rise in multiculturalism within London may be a new phenomena given the newfound ease of transportation, London’s willingness to be the “world city”, the promoter of different cultures and customs, is nothing new at all.