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This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain. If a new festival were to be held this year, what would you include and why?

I would have two pavilions, one white and one black. The white one would celebrate Britain’s creative achievements in all their forms, to demonstrate their wonderful richness and spirit – an uplifting, joyful experience. The black one would be an audio experience. It would replay all of the lies told by our politicians past, present and future, because they always lie and always will – a horrid and revealing experience.
Mi
ke Dempsey, Founder, Studio Dempsey

I woke up thinking about all the stuff on my desk and how it could be re-imagined – a paper computer that I could fold up and put in my pocket, or even better an iPad and iBook, so no need for hardware. When I got to the office and talked to the tchnowizards, they said, ’Oh right, we’ve seen those – OK – what about 4D TV?’ Now, every time I open a newspaper I see something mindboggling. This morning was the ’Think-O-Matic’, a 3D printer made by Makerbot Industries. On show in Las Vegas. It’s a really cheap 3D modelling factory, in a build-it-yourself box. Then I turned over the page to a noiseless dentists’ drill. (These are real, honest.)
My dream’s come true.
B
rian Webb, Director, Webb & Webb Design

I suggest the Festival of Cultural Devolution: take over empty shops in villages, towns and boroughs supported by local sponsorship (with guaranteed London promotion). Call for a genuine local response to the Cultural Olympiad. The community votes – X Factor meets Turner Prize, with the mixed-media winners installed in thousands of windows. A video record of these ’Virtual Vitrines’ may then be presented online and finally manifested collectively as a video installation on London’s South Bank in 2012.
Peter Higgins, Creative director, Land Design Studio

Britain has changed immeasurably since 1951. We are no longer the manufacturing powerhouse we once boasted we were. In 1951, we were war-torn. In 2011, we are financially torn and then – as it would be now – the festival was as much about promoting recovery and progress as it was about better-quality design. The festival would need to be accessible nationwide, both with a touring exhibition and an online platform. Involving the public would help to unite the country, and could fuel interactive installations countrywide. We should commission UK film directors and producers to make short films celebrating our great nation – all funded by Stephen Hester (RBS), John Varley (Barclays) and Eric Daniels (Lloyds TSB).
Steve Price, Founder and creative director, Plan B Studio

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