London History & Culture: Experience London/Britain/Europe!

The Great Fire of London: an online talk by David Laird
Join David Laird at Shoe Lane Library to explore the 1666 Great Fire of London and the transformative rebuild that followed.
This page is for online tickets for this event - please see our separate page for in-person tickets.
Join historian David Laird at Shoe Lane Library for an insightful journey back to 1666, a year marked by one of London’s most infamous disasters—the Great Fire. In this talk, David will delve into those fateful days in September when a spark turned into a raging inferno that destroyed much of the City of London. Explore how the fire began, the heroic yet desperate efforts to contain it, and the challenges faced by Londoners as they watched their city burn. David will also examine the ambitious rebuilding efforts that followed, transforming the cityscape and forever altering the architectural identity of London.
David Laird is a historian and founder of Heritage Guides walking tour company. Originally from Edinburgh, he enjoys researching and talking on the stories of the places he works and visits.
This event will be delivered both in-person and online. To book an in-person ticket, please visit our in-person booking page.
People with in-person tickets will be able to watch the talk at Shoe Lane Library, and those with online tickets will be sent a Zoom link before the event. If you would like to change your ticket type, please email us at shoelane@cityoflondon.gov.uk.
Looking for more compelling stories from Shoe Lane Library? Check out our profile for more talks, events, lectures and historical discussions!
If you have a disability you wish us to consider when attending our events, please inform the staff in advance.

J.M.W. Turner - A National Gallery of Art Film Presentation (Livestream)
Produced by the Department of Exhibition Programs, National Gallery of Art, this documentary chronicles the rise of Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), one of the greatest landscape painters of all time.
One of the greatest landscape painters of all time, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851) rendered the subtle effects of light and atmosphere in revolutionary ways. This documentary chronicles the rise of Turner, a barber's son who entered the Royal Academy art school at age fourteen to become, over the course of six decades, Britain's most renowned painter. It includes footage of locations important to Turner in Wales, England, Switzerland, and readings from writers and artists of the era, including John Ruskin and Lord Byron.

London History & Culture - YouTube Programmes

Robert Kelleman …

Live Aid London 1985: 40th Anniversary - Music History Livestream

Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a movement that started with the release of the successful charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in December 1984. Billed as the "global jukebox", Live Aid was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.

We’ll see highlights from the London performers which included …
Coldstream Guards
Status Quo
The Style Council
The Boomtown Rats
Adam Ant
Ultravox
Spandau Ballet
Elvis Costello
Nik Kershaw
Sade
Sting, Phil Collins & Branford Marsalis
Howard Jones
Bryan Ferry
Paul Young
U2
Dire Straits
Queen
David Bowie
The Who
Elton John & Freddie Mercury
Brian May
Paul McCartney
Band Aid

In a separate program, later in the day, we’ll feature the Philadelphia performers.

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