00:00Hello, I'm in the gardens of one of London's most iconic venues, Alexandra Palace.
00:08Home of concerts, firework events and now known and loved for hosting the darts, it also has so much history.
00:17Alexandra Palace opened on Queen Victoria's 54th birthday in 1873, with a grand celebration including concerts and recitals.
00:26But tragedy struck 16 days later when a fire broke out in the palace.
00:32Just two years later on, the palace in North London was rebuilt.
00:36By 1902, it was used to celebrate colonial troops from around the world who gathered for the coronation of King Edward VII.
00:44In 1914, it was converted into a Catholic church for Belgian refugees to pray and stay.
00:51The former Bijou Theatre at Alexandra Palace was used as a hospital for Belgian and Dutch refugees during the first year of the First World War as well.
01:00In 1922, the palace reopened following extended refurbishment after damage during the First World War.
01:07And just over a decade later, the world's first regular high-definition public television broadcast took place from the BBC studios.
01:15But then, just four years after that, the Refugee Centre was reopened again in 1940 for Belgian refugees.
01:22And during the Blitz, a bomb fatally damaged the television transmitter that was used to jam the German navigation systems.
01:29In the 60s, it hosted a Sean Connery All-Stars football match, an all-night jazz festival and hosted The Who on the final leg of the tour as Alexandra Palace opened up again.
01:40But around 100 years after the first fire, the palace went up in flames again in 1980, and this time it was eight years before the palace reopened.
01:50Since then, it has been the home to music artists, comedians and sports, famously known for hosting the snooker and the darts.
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