2006 London Design Festival

Opened by Sir Terence Conran, the 2006 Festival was attended by around 300,000 people

In 2006 the Festival was opened by special guest Sir Terence Conran. By now spread to over 150 locations. In total 208 events were staged by 160 participating organisations. And visitor numbers continued to grow; around 300,000 people attended the Festival's events. Over one Festival weekend, the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane had 25,000 visitors alone.

Tom Dixon took over Trafalgar Square for The Great Chair Grab, giving away 500 limited edition chairs [see menu left]. For the first year we launched the Design Embassy, supported by Creative London and UK Trade & Investment, providing a networking space for overseas visitors at the ICA.

Other events included The Bridge by Michael Cross, a design/art installation in a church at Dilston Grove, Southwark Park, in which visitors could walk on water, steppingstones mysteriously appearing out of the water in front of the walker as they walked. [See slideshow right]. The Future Laboratory hosted a design trends exhibition.