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Southbank Centre
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<p>The Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in <a href="/facts/London/KozCCsy9">London</a>, England, on the <a href="/facts/South_Bank/LzflArxo">South Bank</a> of the <a href="/facts/River_Thames/XnQWN52L">River Thames</a> (between <a href="/facts/Hungerford_Bridge/Ifev8pvU">Hungerford Bridge</a> and <a href="/facts/Waterloo_Bridge/BshrMfKG">Waterloo Bridge</a>). It is adjacent to the separately owned <a href="/facts/Royal_National_Theatre/UUVKxXLE">National Theatre</a>, containing three theatres, and <a href="/facts/BFI_Southbank/hHAyqMG2">BFI Southbank</a>, which has four cinemas and a library. <a href="/facts/Shakespeare%27s_Globe/dzwVdJBM">Shakespeare's Globe</a>, <a href="/facts/Tate_Modern/qtnHzbIF">Tate Modern</a> and the <a href="/facts/Millennium_Bridge,_London/B1voJj6l">Millennium Bridge</a>, are all located nearby. </p><p>The Southbank Centre comprises three main performance venues (the <a href="/facts/Royal_Festival_Hall/tuUux2TE">Royal Festival Hall</a> including the <a href="/facts/National_Poetry_Library/LzU40sbq">National Poetry Library</a>, the <a href="/facts/Queen_Elizabeth_Hall/4wI8ACg5">Queen Elizabeth Hall</a> and the <a href="/facts/Purcell_Room/V7mWl7uC">Purcell Room</a>), together with the <a href="/facts/Hayward_Gallery/HHYYsUe2">Hayward Gallery</a>, and is Europe’s largest centre for the arts. It attracted 4.36 million visitors during 2019. Over two thousand paid performances of music, dance and literature are staged at Southbank Centre each year, as well as over two thousand free events and an education programme, in and around the performing arts venues. In addition, three to six major art exhibitions are presented at the Hayward Gallery yearly, and national touring exhibitions reach over 100 venues across the UK. Together with the <a href="/facts/Barbican_Centre/t6w0XflQ">Barbican Centre</a>, a similar arts venue, the Southbank Centre is also known for its <a href="/facts/Brutalist_architecture/uHvb5Ujd">brutalist architecture</a>. </p>