Conclusion

Abstract

By late summer 1924, Wembley’s organizers were forced to confront lower-than-expected attendance and revenue shortfalls approximating £2 million. A decision was made to reopen the fairground in 1925 in order to increase revenue, but in the end the great Wembley exhibition closed at a loss. In spite of disappointments, out of a UK population of 44 million, 26 million attended the exhibition during its two-year run—a record for exhibitions held in Britain, where the English Channel discouraged attendance from the European continent—but this was not enough. Portions of the fairground were sold off and the magic that had brought colonies and dominions into the heart of suburban London came quickly to an end. The displays in the Indian Pavilion were put up to auction, and the colonial pavilions were dismantled, shipped off site, and found new and humbler uses. According to a report attributed to demolition contractor J. A. Elvin, the pavilion belonging to Nigeria became an auto repair shop in Preston, the Gold Coast Pavilion found a new existence as a garage in Huddersfield, while “East Africa has become a furniture factory in Letchworth.”¹ A vigorous private trade in Wembley memorabilia, including dishes, cups, silverware, and postcard sets continued through the twentieth century, eventually moving onto the world-wide web. Nevertheless, only the huge concrete stadium, an important venue for sporting and popular cultural events and the 1948 London Olympic Games, remained as the chief architectural monument to the extravagant hopes of Wembley’s organizers. The Empire Stadium was renamed Wembley Stadium (the “Venue of Legends”), but its official histories reminded visitors of its imperial origins, illustrating one way in which imperial relationships and national identity became conflated in Britain during the twentieth century.