‘Curated chaos’: Danny Boyle on the ‘pop culture spectacular’ he is bringing to London’s Southbank Centre

Director and producer is co-creator of You Are Here, a one-day immersive theatrical event traversing 75 years of youth culture Out of chaos come great cultural movements, according to the director and producer Danny Boyle, who will inflict a little curated chaos on London’s Southbank Centre with what has been described as an “epic, one-off pop culture spectacular”. Boyle, whose 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony drew on the rich thread of British culture, is the co-creator and director of You Are Here, a one-day immersive theatrical event traversing 75 years of youth culture and social movement: think teddy boys, Lovers’ Rock, punk, Ziggy Stardust, rave, acid house, the spoken word, Brit pop, ballroom to name a few. With 1,000 performers and more than 10,000 people expected to attend, the event on 3 May marks the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Royal Festival Hall for the postwar 1951 Festival of Britain and celebrates the role the Southbank Centre has played since in supporting youth culture. Boyle, 69, who directed Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire and jokes he feels “embarrassed going on about [youth culture] because people associate me with it and I’m

Apr 2, 2026 → Apr 2, 2026