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BBC Parliament

BBC Parliament is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel from the BBC that showcases parliamentary content from across the United Kingdom. It broadcasts live and recorded coverage of the British Parliament (House of Commons, House of Lords and Select Committees), the Scottish Parliament, the London Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd. When none of these chambers are sitting, the channel does not broadcast, and its feed is given over to a simulcast of the BBC News channel.

As of January 2022, the channel had a typical weekly peak of approximately 120,000 viewers, during Prime Minister's Questions, representing a monthly reach of 5.41% of UK TV households and 0.06% overall share. When the channel is not broadcasting parliamentary content, it simulcasts the BBC News channel.

History

In 1991, United Artists Programming initiated a trial project to provide highlights of debates from Parliament in a programme called Yesterday in the Commons to cable networks across the UK. The trial was deemed to be a success and this led to United Artists Cable launching a full time service, The Parliamentary Channel on 13 January 1992, to provide live and recorded coverage of the British Parliament. It also aired full live coverage of the September party conference season.

In 1998 the channel was purchased by the BBC and was relaunched on 23 September 1998 as BBC Parliament. It now broadcasts on cable, satellite, and Freeview. This followed the launch three years earlier of a Digital Audio Broadcasting, from the Crystal Palace transmitting station, which had offered is a relay of events in Parliament. This audio service became a relay of BBC Parliament when the channel launched, and continued until the DAB radio service was closed down on 14 November 2000.

Due to capacity limitations on the digital terrestrial television platform, now known as Freeview, from launch until 15 October 2002, the channel ran as "audio only". Then on digital terrestrial (now known as Freeview) from 14 October 2002 until 13 November 2006 the channel was only able to broadcast a quarter-screen picture. After receiving "thousands of angry and perplexed emails and letters", not to mention questions asked by MPs in the House itself, the BBC eventually found the bandwidth to make the channel full-screen. Viewers were advised to retune their TVs or set-top boxes to receive the full-screen version of BBC Parliament.

Until 2008, BBC Parliament was unique amongst the BBC channels in being broadcast using non-BBC facilities, with ITV's Millbank Studios in Westminster supplying the engineering and playout facilities. Production, editorial and journalism were, however, maintained by the BBC.

The previous idents, also based on a Big Ben clock motif ran from 2009 to 2016. This replaced the channel's previous identity which was first introduced in 2002.

BBC Parliament was taken off the air during the 2012 Summer Olympics on Freeview in post-digital switchover areas to enable BBC Three to broadcast 24 hours a day. The BBC had done the same during the 2008 Summer Olympics as it used the space to provide an additional BBC Red Button option for Freeview users.

BBC Parliament HD has been confirmed as launching from 20 October 2021 and rolling out across various platforms at different times right up to the end of 2022, the standard definition service will continue on Freeview. This has been the case since 10 December 2013 when BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News, CBBC, and Cbeebies began high definition simulcasts.

On 5 September 2016 BBC Two began broadcasting BBC Parliament during BBC Two's overnight downtime. However this was short-lived and has subsequently been discontinued.

On 14 October 2016, the channel received a new look and new idents, its first revamp since 2009. The channel's current identity went live on Monday 10 October 2016 with refreshed music and idents based on clock workings, with colours and images derived from the flags and assemblies of the British home countries and the European Parliament.

In July 2018, the BBC announced that the output on the channel was to be cut back, discontinuing all programming produced for the channel other than parliamentary coverage, and closing the channel entirely during summer months when Parliament and the devolved assemblies are not sitting. The move has been criticised by many including the former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow. In October 2018, the BBC announced that it had shelved these plans.

From 26 July until 31 August 2021, for the first time BBC Parliament simulcast the BBC News channel during a parliamentary recess. This replaced the loop of highlights from the previous Parliamentary session. Starting to broadcast the BBC News Channel during the three major recesses was part of a range of cutbacks to the channel which saw the channel end its wider political coverage to focus only on live and recorded coverage from Westminster and the devolved chambers. Coverage of the House of Lords and Select committees was also reduced. Also, as part of the channel's cessation of wider political coverage, coverage of party conferences the Sunday broadcasts of national political shows, coverage of American politics via a weekly simulcast of C-SPAN and a repeat of Question Time all finished. All archive programming stopped being shown on the channel and the bespoke highlights programmes The Day in Parliament and The Week in Parliament and all other programming made for the channel also ended at this point.

In April 2022, BBC Parliament began broadcasting in high-definition, initially only on the Virgin Media platform, BBC Parliament in HD came to Sky and Freesat in February 2023.

Following the death of Elizabeth II, the channel broadcast continuous coverage of the four days of Queen Elizabeth's lying in state.

Regular programming
Whenever the House of Commons is sitting, BBC Parliament carries the chamber live without interruption, with any simultaneous House of Lords sitting being shown in full later the same day and the following morning, often in sections that fit around the sittings of the Commons. The House of Lords is broadcast live only on days when there is no House of Commons sitting scheduled. BBC Parliament also provides full, recorded coverage of the House of Commons' second chamber Westminster Hall during weekends, when they will also broadcast selected evidence sessions from different select committees of the House of Commons.

Whenever both Westminster chambers are in recess, but a devolved assembly is constituted, the channel will provide live coverage of its work, while during Westminster sessions, coverage of the devolved assemblies usually takes the form of highlights at the weekend of the previous week's main debates and business.

Thus, when taken together with both live and recorded coverage from the other bodies it covers, BBC Parliament's schedule is dominated by direct broadcasts of the legislative and political institutions, whether they be plenary, quasi-plenary (such as Westminster Hall), or in committees that affect British public life.

Election night
In the event of one of the devolved nations producing their own results programme on election night, normally the first Thursday in May, BBC Parliament will usually broadcast this telecast to the whole of the United Kingdom. On election night for the 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections, BBC Parliament aired BBC Scotland's result night coverage. A few days afterwards, it would also broadcast a replay of election night coverage from BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. In 2024, the channel aired the network coverage as broadcast as seen on the BBC News Channel due to the channel now carrying the BBC News Channel when none of the UK's Parliaments and Assemblies were sitting.

BBC Parliament had also carried BBC Scotland's coverage of both the 2011 devolved assembly elections and Scottish Independence Referendum. In March 2011 BBC Parliament simulcast BBC Wales's results coverage of the nation's devolution referendum.

Original Programmes
Until July 2021, BBC Parliament had often broadcast its own original programmes. They were either be scheduled or used to fill any gaps in the billed programmes, especially when live coverage of a legislative chamber ends before the next programme is due to start. The programmes covered a variety of political and parliamentary subjects, including:

 * A to Z of Westminster – A series of short programmes presented by BBC Parliament researchers that seek to explain some of the more common aspects of parliamentary protocol.
 * Britain's Best Buildings – Only the episode that features the Palace of Westminster is broadcast, usually edited down into short segments that focus on one specific feature of the palace.
 * Conversations – Conversations with political figures about their lives and careers, with Parliamentary Correspondent Sean Curran.
 * Election File – Short summaries of previous general election results, including short bursts of the BBC's original television coverage. These files are now rarely shown.
 * In House – A new strand of programmes that replaced A-Z of Westminster in 2011. The programmes are similar in function to their predecessor series, seeking to explain some of the strange procedures that occur in Parliament.
 * Laws and Ladies – A topical chat show, featuring a panel of peers discussing the political issues of the day. Those appearing are Baroness Boothroyd, Baroness Knight of Collingtree and Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde.
 * Laying Down the Law – A standalone programme that explains the parliamentary stages a bill must go through to become an Act of Parliament.
 * MP Too! – A series of short programmes that look back at some eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Members of Parliament (MPs) who were more famous for their work outside of the House of Commons or House of Lords.
 * Speaker's Lectures – A series of lectures initiated by John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, from 2011 to 2019. To mark the centenary of the Parliament Act 1911, the lectures covered some of the main political figures of the century.
 * Village Idioms – Short examinations of modern-day idioms that were coined in Westminster, including 'reading the Riot Act' and 'flogging a dead horse'.

General election and referendum repeats
Between 2002 and 2020, the channel frequently showed recordings of BBC general election coverage, from the 1955 election, the first British election programme to be telerecorded as well as other events such as the 1975 EEC Referendum and the 2016 EU Referendum. Some have been broadcast on the anniversary of their original transmissions. The channel's editor has described this as adding "something of value" and says it helps the channel "reach a wider audience for our normal parliamentary schedule".

1 – Only three hours of the programme is known to exist.

2 – This was given a special introduction by David Dimbleby, the son of Richard Dimbleby who presented the 1959 broadcast. Only the overnight footage was shown because the daytime coverage was not kept.

3 – Only two hours of coverage is known to exist with the surviving coverage originally broadcast in mid-afternoon.

4 – In addition, the overnight coverage of the 1979 election was broadcast on BBC Four on 12 June 2008.

5 – The 1983 coverage was originally scheduled to be shown on 10 October 2003, but was not broadcast.

6 _ The 1987 coverage was originally scheduled to be shown on 10 June 2017 for the 30th anniversary which was the following day 11 June but due to the 2017 General Election having taken place 2 days earlier the planned showing was cancelled and replaced by the re-run of Election 2017

7 – The 1997 coverage was originally scheduled to be shown on 1 May 2017 to coincide with its 20th anniversary but due to the surprise calling of the 2017 general election scheduled for 8 June it was postponed and eventually shown on 4 September 2017.

8 – The 1997 coverage is broadcast "clean"- without the original on-screen graphics, although they have been included on all other election reruns.

Special programming
From 2002 until 2019 BBC Parliament frequently broadcast programmes that have a historical or broader social significance, often encompassing major events both in the United Kingdom and in the world. They have also included a selection of programmes exploring issues of import and topicality in-depth, akin to BBC Four. They are generally shown on the anniversaries of major events. Programmes in this area have been diverse in character, such as the channel's first archive rerun, which was to celebrate the Golden Jubilee in June 2002 when BBC Parliament reran the coronation coverage. All special programming ended in 2020 due to cutbacks at the channel which saw it revert to schedule which only featured live and delayed coverage of the UK's Parliamentary bodies.

2005–2006
In 2005, the channel marked the 40th anniversary of the death of Winston Churchill by broadcasting archive coverage of his funeral.

Also in 2005, BBC Parliament also marked the 30th anniversary of the first referendum over Europe by reshowing interviews with the two main party leaders, and broadcasting the two hours of the Referendum results coverage which the BBC retains in its archives.

The 50th anniversary of the Suez Crisis was commemorated in November 2006, with writer and broadcaster Anthony Howard introducing a special series of programmes on the channel. This included television broadcasts by the then-prime minister Anthony Eden and the then-Labour Leader of the Opposition Hugh Gaitskell, alongside a new documentary called Suez in Parliament: a Fine Hullabaloo.

2007–2008
On 1 April 2007, veteran BBC correspondent Brian Hanrahan introduced Falklands Night to mark the 25th anniversary of the outbreak of the Falklands War. Programming included the BBC's original television news bulletins and reports from the period, alongside editions of Newsnight and excerpts of debates from Question Time. Falklands Night was shown twice during the spring of 2007 to mark the beginning and the end of the conflict.

On 1 July 2007, the channel broadcast Hong Kong Night, presented by Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong, which reran coverage of the handover ceremony, to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the end of British rule, and the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to China.

The tenth anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales was marked on 1 September 2007 with a broadcast of the BBC coverage of her funeral. The rerun was shown at the precise broadcast times of the BBC's original coverage, running from 8:25 am until 4:00 pm. David Dimbleby, who anchored the BBC's coverage, said a few words at the beginning and end of the rerun.

Cliff Michelmore came out of retirement on 18 November 2007 to present The Pound in Your Pocket, a special strand of programming to mark forty years since the devaluation of the Pound by the British government on 18 November 1967. Editions of The Money Programme and 24 Hours were shown along with highlights from the 1968 Budget programme and ministerial broadcasts. The strand's title was taken from the famously misquoted television broadcast made by the then-prime minister Harold Wilson about the devaluation on 19 November 1967. Wilson said: "It does not mean that the pound here in Britain, in your pocket, in your purse or bank has been devalued."

On 26 May 2008, Joan Bakewell introduced an archive evening called Permissive Night which examined the liberalising social reform legislation passed by Parliament in the late 1960s. Topics covered included changes to divorce law, the death penalty, the Abortion Act 1967, the Race Relations Act 1968, the partial decriminalisation of homosexual acts (using editions of the documentary series Man Alive) and the relaxation of censorship. The evening concluded with a special new edition of Late Night Line-Up, the review programme that Joan Bakewell presented in the late 1960s.

On 30 November 2008, BBC Parliament broadcast the 1958 State Opening of Parliament to mark 50 years since the event was first televised.

2009
The fall of James Callaghan's Labour government was marked on its 30th anniversary – 28 March 2009. Donald MacCormick, making what would prove to be his final television appearance before his death, presented The Night The Government Fell, which included nearly three-and-a-half hours of audio highlights of the Commons debate that resulted in Callaghan's government losing a vote of no confidence by 311 votes to 310. A documentary charting the evening's events was shown, as was McCormick's own live programme from Westminster on the night of the vote.

On 28 June 2009, BBC Parliament reran BBC TV's coverage of the 1969 Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales to mark the 40th anniversary of this event. The channel also re-broadcast an interview which Prince Charles gave a few days before his Investiture.

The anniversary of the BBC's own Question Time series was marked on 25 September 2009 by re-broadcasting the first edition of the topical discussion programme from 30 years earlier. Robin Day presented alongside the inaugural panel of Michael Foot MP, Teddy Taylor, Edna O'Brien and Archbishop Derek Worlock.

The writer and broadcaster Anthony Howard presented an archive evening on 10 October 2009 entitled Never Had It So Good, that looked back on 1959. This included television election broadcasts by the prime minister Harold Macmillan, Leader of the Opposition Hugh Gaitskell and Labour's Tony Benn; an edition of Tonight; and other BBC current affairs programmes. The evening's title is taken from a phrase contained in a speech made by Harold Macmillan in 1957 when he optimistically said, "Let us be frank about it – most of our people have never had it so good".

2011
At the 2011 Irish general election, BBC Parliament simulcast Irish state broadcaster RTÉ's general election results programme on 26 February 2011. The election saw the incumbent Irish government fall to heavy defeat at the hands of the other parties. The channel also broadcast recorded coverage of the presentation of the Irish government's 2012 budget in the Dáil Éireann in December 2011.

2013
On Thursday 14 February, BBC Parliament broadcast an evening of selected archive programmes under the title Harold Wilson Night. Presented by Peter Snow, the five-hour block of programming marked the 50th anniversary of the election of Harold Wilson as leader of the Labour Party on 14 February 1963, the longest serving and most electorally successful Labour prime minister of the 20th century. The sequence of programmes, which included Harold Wilson's famous "Pound in your Pocket" broadcast and the first airing of the once controversial Yesterday's Men documentary since its initial broadcast in June 1971, was repeated two days later.

On Monday 18 March, BBC Parliament showed four hours of the House of Commons debate about whether to commit British troops to the invasion of Iraq. Titled Iraq – Ten Years On, it was shown to mark the tenth anniversary of the debate.

On Monday 8 April, BBC Parliament broadcast an evening of archive programming to mark the death of Margaret Thatcher, the first female to serve as prime minister. The schedule included three interviews conducted by Sir Robin Day, Mrs Thatcher's speeches to the 1980 and 1984 Conservative Party Conferences, her last speech in the House of Commons in November 1990 and her maiden speech in the House of Lords in 1992.

On the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II (2 June), the channel showed BBC Television's original coverage of the event. The footage was shown "as live" and included the State Procession which followed the Coronation service.

On Sunday 9 June, BBC Parliament broadcast Beeching Night to mark the 50th anniversary of The Beeching Report on the future of Britain's railways, which recommended closing 3,000 miles of track and 2,000 stations to help stem massive losses. The evening was presented by Nicholas Owen. The strand featured railway-themed editions of various BBC current affairs programmes, including two editions of Panorama, as well as news reports and two interviews with Dr Beeching. Also included was a new programme looking at the relationship between the railways and politicians.

On Saturday 19 October, BBC Parliament marked the 50th anniversary of the appointment of Alec Douglas-Home as prime minister following the resignation of Harold Macmillan. Titled Home at the Top the sequence included the edition of Panorama broadcast on the night of the hand-over and an address to the nation by the new prime minister.

2014
Following the death of Tony Benn on 14 March 2014, BBC Parliament broadcast a special evening of programming which included his 1959 Labour Party election broadcast from the general election campaign; Mr Benn's 1990 House of Commons speech from the vote of confidence debate on Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; his final speech in Parliament in 2001; his 1995 documentary Behind Closed Doors which took viewers behind the scenes in Parliament; and Labour MP Tristan Hunt's 2011 Speaker's lecture on the career of Tony Benn.

2015
To mark the 50th anniversary of the funeral of Winston Churchill, BBC Parliament replayed the black-and-white funeral coverage, commentated by Richard Dimbleby, and at the same time as the original broadcast. The broadcast was introduced by Nicholas Soames, Churchill's grandson, who was in attendance that day.

On Sunday 26 July, BBC Parliament showed an evening of programmes to mark the 50th anniversary of Ted Heath becoming the leader of the Conservative Party.

On Saturday 28 November, BBC Parliament broadcast Tebbit on Thatcher, an evening of programmes to mark the 25th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's resignation as prime minister and leader the Conservative Party. The programmes were introduced by Norman Tebbit and the items shown included her 1980 speech to the Conservative Party Conference, news reports about vital events in her time as prime minister and two editions of Panorama.

2016
On 3 April, BBC Parliament broadcast Callaghan Night to mark the 40th anniversary of James Callaghan replacing Harold Wilson as prime minister and leader of the Labour Party. Three editions of Panorama and two editions of Tonight were shown, which covered significant moments of Mr Callaghan's time as prime minister, including the UK's financial bailout by the IMF, the 1977 Lib-Lab pact and the result of the 1979 vote of no confidence against the government of James Callaghan which signalled the end of the Labour Government.

On 5 June to mark both the 41st anniversary of the 1975 EEC Referendum in the run-up to the 2016 EU Referendum the channel broadcast a night of current and archive programmes under the banner of "75: Not Out." The opening programme (of the same name) was presented by Angela Rippon and featured the "1975 Oxford Union Debate" in two parts, a 1975 Panorama EEC debate which was presented by a young David Dimbleby, BBC news clips, the original 1975 EEC Referendum party political broadcasts and the surviving results programme.

2017
On 12 May, to mark the 80th anniversary of the coronation of King George VI, BBC Parliament showed Pathe's original coverage of the coronation and Pathe's colour film of the coronation processions to and from Westminster Abbey. In addition, the channel showed a brief programme looking at BBC Television's coverage of the day.

2019
On 3 June 2019, BBC Parliament showed the BBC's coverage of the results of the 2016 United States presidential election which saw Donald Trump elected as President of the United States. The coverage was timed to coincide with his state visit to Britain. This is the first time that BBC Parliament has shown a rerun of the BBC's coverage of an American election.

On 1 July 2019, BBC Parliament reran BBC TV's coverage of the 1969 Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales to mark the 50th anniversary of the event.

Former programming
Until 2021, BBC Parliament had broadcast a range of political and current affairs programmes from across the BBC, including:

 * BOOKtalk – face-to-face discussion with authors about recently released political books, presented by Mark D'Arcy. A summer special is also produced featuring several 'beach books'.
 * Briefings – a strand of programmes, usually broadcast weekend evenings, containing recorded coverage of major press briefings and conferences given by politicians in the previous week.
 * Dateline London – a roundtable panel of foreign correspondents in London discussing the week's news. Dateline is now only shown on the BBC News Channel and on BBC World News.
 * Dragon's Eye (produced by BBC Wales) – presented by Adrian Masters or Rhun ap Iorwerth, providing a weekly roundup of Welsh political developments (since replaced by the Welsh section of Sunday Politics).
 * Eòrpa (produced by BBC Gàidhlig) – current affairs series which covers political and social developments covering Europe, transmitted in Gaelic with English subtitles.
 * Hearts and Minds (produced by BBC Northern Ireland) – weekly programme covering the latest issues in the politics of Northern Ireland (since replaced by the Northern Irish section of Sunday Politics).
 * Lords Questions – recorded coverage of the most recent session of Questions in the House of Lords.
 * Mayor's Question Time – recorded coverage of the monthly question period in the London Assembly to the Mayor of London.
 * Politics Europe – monthly programme usually broadcast on a Friday which covers the latest political news across Europe, analysing both the situation in Brussels as well as within individual European nations. Filmed in exactly the same format as the Daily Politics, presented by Andrew Neil or Jo Coburn. Also broadcast on BBC World News.
 * Politics Live – a daily political programme broadcast live weekdays on BBC Two at 12:15 pm during parliamentary sessions and presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn. Politics Live discusses the latest political guests and talk about the day events across the United Kingdom, and is repeated on BBC Parliament every night at midnight. The Sunday Politics from BBC One (including the London region opt-out section) is also repeated at midnight on the day of broadcast.
 * Prime Minister's Questions – recorded coverage of the most recent session of Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Live coverage is also provided on the channel without comment or interruption as part of the channel's live coverage of the House of Commons' sittings.
 * Question Time (repeated from BBC One) – a topical debate programme based on Any Questions? which typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience. Repeated on BBC Parliament every Sunday at 6 pm.
 * Scottish First Minister's Questions – recorded coverage of the most recent session of Questions to the First Minister of Scotland in the Scottish Parliament. Scottish First Minister's Questions is broadcast on Thursday evenings at 11:30 pm, and is repeated throughout the week.
 * Straight Talk – a weekly political talk show in which presenter Andrew Neil discusses the motivations, ideas and politics of leading figures in UK public life using the 1960s classic Face to Face format. Straight Talk is no longer produced.
 * Sunday Politics Scotland  (produced by BBC Scotland) – the Scottish section of The Sunday Politics, presented by Gordon Brewer and transmitted on BBC One Scotland.
 * Ten Minute Rule Bill – Recorded coverage of a backbench MP seeking the leave of the House of Commons to introduce a piece of legislation on a specific topic under the rules of Standing Order 23.
 * The Day in Parliament – nightly programme, broadcast at 11 pm, or following the adjournment of the House of Commons if it sits after that time, that rounds up the day's headlines from across all of the UK's legislative chambers. The Record is usually presented by Keith McDougall, Alicia McCarthy, David Cornock, Mandy Baker or Kristina Cooper.
 * The Record Europe – a weekly review of the work of the European Parliament, and the other European Union institutions, with debate and analysis of current European political issues. Presented by Shirin Wheeler. Ended mid-2012 and replaced by Politics Europe, presented by Andrew Neil.
 * The Week in Parliament – a weekly 30-minute-long analysis and discussion of major events in the UK's legislative chambers. Special editions of the record are produced during Westminster recesses reviewing the preceding session, and at the end of the calendar year reviewing the previous 12 months. The weekly edition is presented by either Keith McDougall, David Cornock, Mandy Baker, Kristina Cooper and Alicia McCarthy, and the special editions are often presented jointly by McDougall and McCarthy.
 * The World Debate – part of a selection of programmes originally transmitted on BBC World News, that are broadcast exclusively on BBC Parliament to UK audiences, such as the 2009 London Intelligence Squared debates.
 * This Week – repeated from BBC One and presented by Andrew Neil. An often-witty look at developments on the UK and international political scene, with a variety of guest contributions and discussions. The programme ended in July 2019.
 * Washington Journal (from C-SPAN) – providing a lookback at the week in American politics, and providing the opportunity for UK viewers to contribute to a phone-in debate.
 * Welsh First Minister's Questions – recorded coverage of the most recent session of Questions to the First Minister of Wales in the Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament. Welsh First Minister's Questions is always broadcast on Tuesday evenings at 11:30 pm, and is then repeated throughout the week.

Until 2019, BBC Parliament also broadcast the annual party conferences of the UK's major political parties in full and highlights of the smaller party conferences. In the past, the channel also aired highlights of the General Synod of the Church of England, live coverage of the annual chamber sitting of the UK Youth Parliament in the House of Commons, oral evidence sessions from the British Youth Council's Youth Select Committee, and the annual House of Lords Chamber Event.

title: BBC Parliament


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User talk:Fluffmuffin

Talk I'm thinking maybe we should delete the above stuff soon. It's getting bulky. Sorry I haven't said anything the past few days, I got absorbed playing the Sims and then tried getting onto email, found I couldn't, tried to post on livejournal, couldn't figure out how... well anyway I'm going to Maryland Tuesday - Sunday... I'm aware that you yourself are going on a cruise. Does that mean no more New Years Depot Depot special call? ;_; ~Fluffmuffin

Look at me look at me look at meeeeee ~ Fluffmuffin

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User talk:Fluffmuffin


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Kowloon Bay

Kowloon Bay is a bay within Victoria Harbour and an neighbourhood within Kowloon, Hong Kong.

The bay is located at the east of the Kowloon Peninsula and north of Hong Kong Island. It is the eastern portion of Victoria Harbour, between Hung Hom and Lei Yue Mun. The bay was divided into half when the 13/31 runway of the former Kai Tak International Airport was constructed in the middle of the bay in the mid-1950s.

The reclamation of north-eastern Kowloon Bay near Ngau Tau Kok is also named Kowloon Bay. It was formerly known as Ngau Tau Kok Industrial Area. After the construction of MTR Kowloon Bay station, the area is referred to as Kowloon Bay. The area near the MTR station is residential while the area near the shore is industrial. The area is traditionally an extension of Ngau Tau Kok, and thus facilities such as Ngau Tau Kok Police Station are located there.

Governance
Administratively, the reclamation of Kowloon Bay and water east of the runway except the airport area is part of Kwun Tong District. The airport and the waters of the district, on the other hand, belong to Kowloon City District.

Geography
Kowloon Bay has undergone massive reclamation over the past century. San Po Kong, which is now far from the coast, was reclaimed from the bay in the early days.

The western part of the bay is now protected from the sea by a breakwater, and forms the To Kwa Wan typhoon shelter. A small barrel rock, the Kowloon Rock, is in the typhoon shelter. Other barrel rocks, the Channel Rock and the Hoi Sham Island (also To Kwa Wan Island), are now connected to land at the former Kai Tak International Airport runway and at To Kwa Wan respectively, by land reclamation.

Features
The former Kai Tak International Airport was built on reclaimed land in Kowloon Bay and its one and only runway, which juts out into the bay, is surrounded by water on three sides. The airport was closed in 1998 and now a cruise terminal occupies a part of the site.

Kowloon Bay Depot, the first MTR depot, is located in the area.

Buildings

 * Amoy Gardens, large private estate
 * Electrical and Mechanical Services Department Headquarters
 * Enterprise Square Five, a complex comprising MegaBox shopping mall and two office buildings
 * Goldin Financial Global Centre, an office building
 * Hong Kong Pacific Tower, a grade-A commercial building
 * Kai Yip Estate, a public housing estate
 * Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre (KITEC), an exhibition and convention centre which also hosts many concerts.
 * Richland Gardens, a Private Sector Participation Scheme estate
 * Skyline Tower 2, an office tower
 * Billion Centre, an office building
 * Telford Gardens, a private housing estate built on top of MTR's Kowloon Bay station depot
 * East Kowloon Cultural Centre, opening in 2024

Economy
Fung Seng Enterprises has its head office in Kowloon Bay.

Education
Schools and institutions are scarce in this district. The most famous ones include the SPACE of the University of Hong Kong, Town Center of City University of Hong Kong and YCH Law Chan Chor Si College.

Kowloon Bay is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 46. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money); no government primary schools are in this net.

Schools

 * Kellett School
 * Kowloon Bay St. John The Baptist Catholic Primary School

Future
In the 1990s, there were plans to convert the bay (reclaiming part or even the entire bay) and the former airport site into an in-city new town which would house 240 to 340 thousand residents and a sports stadium. The reduction in demand for land, environmental issues, and public outcry led to a revision of the project. The scheme would not comply with the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance. Hence, the Kai Tak Development plans do not include any land reclamation. A cruise terminal opened on the southern part of the runway.

Transport
The area is serviced by MTR Kowloon Bay station on the Kwun Tong line which is beside Telford Plaza, along with many bus routes along Kwun Tong Road. The old airport Kai Tak Airport was located next to Kowloon Bay. The airport was closed in 1998 and the new one was opened on Chep Lap Kok.

title: Kowloon Bay


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Talk:Operation Paperclip

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Klong5.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 01:55, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Markissocool. Peer reviewers: Markissocool.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 05:45, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Neutral countries
Hi. The part of the introduction that says "The project was not initially targeted against the Soviet Union; rather the concern was that German scientists might emigrate and continue their research in countries such as Spain, Argentina or Egypt, all of which had sympathized with Nazi Germany." does not match what reference 8 says, which is used to justify that sentence there and when it is repeated in the "Capture and detention" section (the other reference used I couldn´t find to read it). In the CIA reference used it talks about neutral countries without specifying which ones, when it mentions Spain, Argentina or Egypt it also says Sweden, Portugal and Turkey to talk about gold and saying that those countries in general cooperated to recover it (marked with the number 58 in the source). I was wondering if it was possible to replace the incomplete list of countries by the term "neutral countries" which is the one used in the reference to talk about Project SAFEHAVEN. Verent (talk) 22:21, 9 May 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: ENG 21011 Research Writing
— Assignment last updated by Wordnerd104 (talk) 23:04, 11 October 2023 (UTC)

 * Hello all, I wanted to introduce myself before I make any edits. My partner and I are planning on clarifying the "scientific achievements" part of this article to make it more specific. Thank you for having us. Casphodel23 (talk) 21:14, 27 September 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Operation Paperclip


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Saab Toad

The Saab Toad, or Paddan in Swedish, was a development car Saab Automobile made in 1966 to test out the new chassis, drive train and engine for the Saab 99.

Background
On 2 April 1965, Gudmund's day in Sweden, after several years of planning, the Saab board started Project Gudmund. This was a project to develop a new and larger car to replace the Saab 96. This new car became the Saab 99, designed by Sixten Sason and unveiled in Stockholm on 22 November 1967.

Overview

The reason for this project was to preserve secrecy during development of the new model, the Saab 99, which was the company's first radically new body shape since the first cars made in 1947. The Toad used the body of a Saab 96, which was long enough for the purpose but had to be widened by 20 cm. This was achieved by cutting the body in half lengthwise and inserting 20 cm of steel spacer. The windscreen (windshield) and rear window clearly showed the seam. The bonnet (hood) and grille required widening in a different way, to prevent changing the appearance of the centrally-placed features, as the picture shows. The Triumph inline four engine of the future Saab 99 replaced the Ford Taunus V4 engine of the Saab 96.

The Toad project was quite short-lived. It was rightly believed that the wider body would not be noticed on Sweden's roads, where so many SAAB 96 cars were an everyday sight. This deception was successful, for a while, until test drivers allowed a grey Toad to be followed by a similarly-colored SAAB 96, making the different proportions obvious to any observer.

Four Saab Toads were made, but only one remains, in dark gray paintwork. It is currently on display in the SAAB museum in Trollhättan, Sweden.

Post-Saab Toad
Further development was carried out on the SAAB Daihatsu, a test car with the new body but badged "Daihatsu", to prevent its identification by journalists as a developmental SAAB. This vehicle is on display in the SAAB Museum in Trollhättan.

title: Saab Toad


text:
Saab Monster

The Saab Monster was an experimental car made by Saab in 1959. This project was part of Saab's work in motorsport and the need to derive more power from their two-stroke powerplant.

Design
The project consisted of a 'Toreador Red' Saab 93 with all excess weight removed, including the bonnet, which was replaced by a plastic one. The engineers then installed two transversely-mounted 748 cc two-stroke, three cylinder engines, in a 'split in-line' configuration, driving the front wheels through a modified clutch and gearbox assembly. The drivetrain also used two distributors and an enlarged radiator.

This arrangement gave the car about 138 bhp and a top speed of 196 km/h (achieved at Såtenäs airfield). The low weight and the 'drop' or aerofoil shape of the body gave the rear end a tendency to become airborne when approaching the top speed. The amount of torque, coupled with front-wheel drive, also gave rise to severe understeer. It was the combination of immense power and poor handling that gave rise to the name 'Monster'.

History
Started in 1959, this project was a part of Saab's work in motorsport and the need to derive more power from their then-standard two-stroke powerplant. During the project there was a speed record attempt but this was not recognised on account of discrepancies in scrutineering and recording. In the end, the project was terminated because it proved impractical.

The restored Saab Monster is now on display in the Saab museum in Trollhättan.

In the early 1970s Saab and Sportpromotion built a similar vehicle powered by two V4 engines giving 144 hp.

title: Saab Monster


text:
Government House, Hong Kong

Government House, located on Government Hill in Central, Hong Kong, is the official residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. It was constructed in 1855 as a Colonial Renaissance-style building, but was significantly remodelled during the Japanese occupation, resulting in the current hybrid Japanese-neoclassical form.

Government House was the official residence of the Governor from 1855 to 1997, when the territory was under British rule. Of the 28 governors of Hong Kong, 25 used this building as their official residence.

Located between Upper Albert Road and Lower Albert Road, Mid-Levels, Central, Government House is on a 24000 sqm plot of land. Its front elevation faces south towards the Peak, while right below its northern part are the former Central Government Offices (currently the Justice Place).

Government House is a declared monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

History/Timeline

Government House was designed by Charles St George Cleverly. Construction started in 1851, eight years after Hong Kong became a British colony, and took four years to complete. The first Governor to live there was Sir John Bowring, the fourth Governor of the territory. The last one was the last Governor, Chris Patten.

Government House also housed the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from 1855 to the 1930s. The Council used the ballroom from 1891 onward

During the Japanese occupation during the Second World War (1941–1945), it was occupied by the Japanese Military Governor. The form of the building was changed to a hybrid Japanese/neoclassical image by Seichi Fujimura (藤村正一 Fujimura Seiichi) in 1944, primarily through the addition of a tower and roof elements.

On 16 September 1945, the Instrument of Surrender was signed at Government House.

The Japanese fittings of Government House were removed in 1946, but the tower remains to this day.

During 1947 to 1957, two sculptured stone lions were erected at the entrance.

During 1971 to 1982, a kidney-shaped swimming pool was built in the garden.

During 1982 to 1986, an ornamental pool with a fountain was created at the foot of the main stairs leading down from the north Veranda.

During 1987 to 1992, a small pergola on the lower terrace was erected and the water feature of the main garden staircase was converted into an impressive planter.

Government House was declared a monument in 1995 under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

After the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997, the House became a reception for ceremonies (such as the conferring of Honours and formal banquets). Tung Chee Hwa, the first chief executive, did not reside in Government House but rather at Grenville House.

During 1997 to 2005, a bonsai gallery was introduced in the Veranda.

Donald Tsang, the second Chief Executive, moved into Government House in January 2006, following extensive renovations. The Standard criticised that the renovation cost was estimated at HK$14.5 million, including a sum of HK$300,000 allocated to a new fish pond designed to accommodate Tsang's collection of koi.

During 2005 to 2012, an outdoor fish pond was added in the back garden.

During 2012 to 2017, three-bin composting system was added in the back garden.

In 2017, one of the tennis courts was converted into a Landscaped Area.

In 2022, HK$2.8 million was spent to renovate the house, before John Lee moved in.

Exterior
The main entrance of the house faces south towards Victoria Peak. Down on the northern side is the Former Central Government Offices, where most government secretariat offices were situated until 2011.

The carriage porch at the front with granite frames is a notable architectural feature of Government House

The exterior of Government House is plastered in Art Deco style. Government House has its unique character and historical meanings with a blend of different architectural styles added on over more than a century.

Garden
Government House has a front lawn and a back garden with dazzling flowers. Originally planted in 1919, the multi-coloured azaleas bloom every spring. There is also a rare species of tree, Brownea grandiceps (Rose of Venezuela), originating from South America and listed in the Register of Old and Valuable Trees of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Seven metres tall, with a crown spread of nine metres, this tree has been maintained in superb condition by the dedicated horticultural staff. Indeed, there are many mature trees on the grounds. Among those trees stands the giant Litchi chinensis.

The garden also features a kidney-shaped swimming pool and an outdoor fish pond.

Interior
Ballroom – The Ballroom is used for hosting banquets for guests from home and abroad. It is also the venue for the Honours and Awards Presentation Ceremony and various community engagement activities.

Dining Room – The Dining Room is used for banquets of smaller scale for guests from home and abroad.

Drawing Room – The Drawing Room is used for receiving guests and holding meetings. Its walls and ceilings are embellished with exquisite plaster mouldings.

Gate Lodges and Government House Guards
At the front entrance on Upper Albert Road, there are two buildings with an iron gate known as the Gate Lodges. Built in 1855, they are the oldest structures of Government House. They were designed by Surveyor General Charles St. George Cleverly who was in charge of the construction of the first generation of Government House in the 1850s. The lodges once housed the Government House Guards, who stood in front of the house and protected the Governor of Hong Kong. Various units of the British Army stationed in Hong Kong were used as guard units.

 * 1st Battalion of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment 1962-63
 * C Company of the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment Berkshire and Wiltshire

Following the handover in 1997, officers of the Hong Kong Police have guarded the building.

Open days

The garden of Government House is opened twice a year to the public. At least one will be arranged in spring to enable members of the public to share the delight in viewing the full bloom of the azaleas. Visitors are usually allowed to pass by the drawing room, dining room and ballroom where key official functions are held.

The open days are generally arranged during weekends. Dates are announced through press releases one week in advance. No admission fee is charged.

Booking
The ballroom of Government House was made available in the 1990s on three Fridays each month for bookings by charitable, non-profit or public organisations to host events that benefit the community. The nature of the event under application must be well-matched with the identity of Government House as an important historical monument of Hong Kong and with its status as a dignified location for the Hong Kong Government to hold official functions. In early 2006, the Chief Executive moved into Government House and used it as official residence and office. Most of the staff in the Chief Executive's Office have also been relocated to Government House to support the Chief Executive. Since then, Government House is no longer available for booking due to security and operational reasons.

Other official residences
In 1900, Mountain Lodge, on Victoria Peak, was built as an alternate summer home for the Governor, a role it retained until 1934. The building survived until 1946, but today only the Gate Lodge and Victoria Peak Garden remain. One of three "GOVERNOR'S RESIDENCE" marking stones of the former Mountain Lodge was erected in the small flower bed in front of the entrance of the Government House in 1980.

From 1934, Fanling Lodge, in the New Territories, was used as a summer residence for the Governor. It has retained this role, and is now the alternative residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. The Lodge is occupied mainly at weekends and on holidays.

Feng shui
According to The New York Times, alleged bad feng shui was the reason Tung Chee Hwa refused to live or work in Government House upon becoming Chief Executive. During his terms as Chief Executive, he was still heavily criticised by Hong Kongers, and his popularity fell well below 40% by the time of his resignation.

The Standard believed Tung's reason to stay away from the mansion was political: a subtle effort to reduce the age-old British legacy over Hong Kong. Other sources mention that "it was the warning about spying devices [installed throughout Government House] that scared him away".

Staff
There are 20 housekeeping positions at the house. The senior chef is paid around HK$30,000 per month.

title: Government House, Hong Kong


text:
User talk:Pclancey

Hello, welcome to Wikipedia. Here are some useful links in case you haven't already found them;

 * How to edit a page
 * How to write a great article
 * Naming conventions
 * Manual of Style

If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the village pump or ask me on my talk page. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian!

Tip: you can sign your name with ~

snoyes 16:00, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

title: User talk:Pclancey


text:
Generation Terrorists

Generation Terrorists is the debut studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. It was released on 10 February 1992 through record label Columbia.

On the back of significant media attention and a "disproportionately high press profile" generated by the band's previously released single "Motown Junk" from 1991, Generation Terrorists was long-awaited by critics thanks to the members' proclamation that their debut would be the "greatest rock album ever" and sell around sixteen million copies around the world, "from Bangkok to Senegal". Recorded between July and December 1991 and released in February 1992, the album did not meet these sales figures but it was nonetheless ultimately certified Gold in the United Kingdom and also charted within the Top 100 in Japan.

Recording
Generation Terrorists was recorded by tracking (the band recording each instrument separately rather than playing it as a live band and then adding the overdubs later) over a period of twenty-three weeks at Blackbarn Studios, near Guildford, England.

Producer Steve Brown decided not to use live drums on the album, and so most of the drum tracks were recorded on a drum machine, which was programmed by Brown and the band's drummer Sean Moore.

Musical style
Describing the album's musical style, the Quietus opined "It had to sound passé, it had to be overdone; if you're trying to bulldoze the shiny edifice of western pop culture, you can't do it tastefully or with subtlety, can you? [...] Generation Terrorists intentionally overplays its hand, overeggs its pudding and spunks its load at every turn". and Pitchfork writer Joe Tangari wrote that Generation Terrorists "walked a weird line between agit-punk, cock rock, romantic melodicism and glam, and was so obviously patterned after the Clash's London Calling that it was actually kind of cute." Critics have labelled the album as glam rock, hard rock, punk rock, glam punk and glam metal. Other influences on the album's sound include Guns N' Roses and the New York Dolls.

Lyrical content
All lyrics were written by Richey Edwards and Nicky Wire. All music was written by James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore (except "Damn Dog", which is a cover version of a song by the Sleez Sisters from the 1980 movie Times Square). The album's lyrics are politicised similar to that of The Clash and Public Enemy, with the album's songs regularly switching from a critical focus on global capitalism to more personal tales of despair and the struggles of youth. Examples of the more politically inspired side of Generation Terrorists include the opening track "Slash 'n' Burn", which concerns "third world exploitation", the track "Repeat (Stars and Stripes)", a remix of the band's own anti-monarchy tirade by Public Enemy production team The Bomb Squad and "Another Invented Disease", a song whose title was deliberate word play on AIDS and referred to a conspiracy theory insinuating that the virus was manufactured by American biological warfare scientists.

Other tracks combine personal and political themes, implicating a connection between global capitalism and personal struggle; "Nat West-Barclays-Midlands-Lloyds" was written as a critique of overseas banking credit policies, but also concerned Richey Edwards' issues involving overdrafts and refused loans. Marc Burrows of Drowned in Sound considered the song to be an accurate prediction of "global financial meltdown" and its effects on everyday life. The single "Motorcycle Emptiness", meanwhile, criticizes consumerism as a "shallow dream" that makes human life overtly commercialized. "Little Baby Nothing", a duet between Traci Lords and Bradfield, was described by Priya Elan of the NME as a "perfect snapshot of [female] innocence bodysnatched and twisted".

Wire and Edwards' love of poetry is also evident in their lyrics. Stuart Maconie of Select speculated that the album's lyrics were not primarily written for usage in song format: "You got the impression that often they haven't even been tried out in the mouth". Instead, revolutionary slogans, and rhyme-free verse conveying multiple messages combine to create an album "drenched in Richey and Nicky's cut-n-paste lyrical agitation", with vocalist Bradfield "fitting sentences along the lines of 'Nagasaki royal alienation consumer deathmask strychnine holocaust hate' into the restrictive confines of a melodic rock chorus."

Album cover
Edwards assumed responsibility for the cover; among ideas he had were using Andres Serrano's Piss Christ, a Jesus figure inside a container of urine; the Bert Stern Marilyn Monroe photographs; a sandpaper sleeve that would scratch the album itself as well as anything else that it was shelved by (similar to Mémoires by Asger Jorn and Guy Debord); as well as several other famous religious paintings; but these suggestions were either declined or found too expensive.

The final front cover of the album was a picture of Edwards' left arm and chest. The arm had a tattoo of a rose with the words "useless generation" in capitals underneath, which was changed to "generation terrorists". This was not without problems, as the original pressing had made Edwards' flesh to be bright pink as opposed to the intended mustard. The back cover featured a design similar to their earlier New Art Riot EP cover, an EC Flag, though this time it was crumpled and in flames. The working title of the album was Culture, Alienation, Boredom & Despair (a lyric from the song "Little Baby Nothing").

Release
Generation Terrorists was released on 10 February 1992. The album entered the UK Rock Chart at No. 1, selling around 250,000 copies worldwide initially. These sales coincided with the 1992 BRIT Awards, whose winners relegated Generation Terrorists to a peak of No. 13 in the UK Albums Chart. Early pressings of the album contain a sample from A Streetcar Named Desire at the start of "Little Baby Nothing". It was removed from later pressings and does not appear on the legacy 20th anniversary edition of the album. The success of 1996's Everything Must Go at the 1997 BRIT Awards ensured that sales of Generation Terrorists and subsequent albums Gold Against the Soul and The Holy Bible enjoyed a late surge; the band's debut sold an extra 110,000 copies.

In the US, the track listing was changed, and some of the more political tracks were dropped. "Democracy Coma" was added to make up for this; it was later released as the B-side to "Love's Sweet Exile"/"Repeat", and also appeared on Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers). In addition, four tracks on the US release ("Slash 'n' Burn", "Nat West–Barclays–Midlands–Lloyds", "Little Baby Nothing" and "You Love Us") were remixed by Michael Brauer. These same four tracks also featured live drumming from American drummer Zachary Alford. These tracks were later included on the Stars and Stripes EP in Japan.

The album failed to chart in the United States, shifting only 35,000 units. Music journalist Simon Price suggested that this was because of the arrival of bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden as the "new rock-megastar elite".

On 5 November 2012, Generation Terrorists was re-released for its 20th anniversary. There are five editions of the re-release: the original album; a two-disc Deluxe Edition with a bonus disc of demos and a DVD of the documentary film Culture, Alienation, Boredom, Despair, about the making of the album – when purchased from the Rough Trade record store in London it also included a free ticket to a showing of the documentary film, followed by an acoustic gig with James Dean Bradfield on 6 November; a four-disc limited edition (3,000 copies worldwide), including, in addition to the contents of the two-disc edition, a replica of a Generation Terrorist tour VIP pass; a 10" collage by Richey Edwards; a 10" vinyl LP of a rare Manics radio performance; and a 28-page book from Nicky Wire's personal archive.

Reception
Soon after its release Generation Terrorists was greeted with a favourable reception from magazines such as Kerrang! and RAW, along with a number 15 placing in the NME Albums of the Year list for 1992. Andy Gill, music critic for The Independent, highlighted in a review of the album's 2012 reissue that the music was "derided as sub-Clash" in other contemporary appraisals, but remarked that it "now has an astringent edge". The album's length and lack of "quality control" were common criticisms. Richey Edwards said that "everybody knows the first album would have been better if we'd left out all the crap." The underproduction of the album was a common cause of complaint among the band's adherents until the superior mix of the Anniversary Edition in 2012.

Nevertheless, by 2012 critics' perception of Generation Terrorists had remained generally positive. In their retrospective review of the album, The Quietus wrote, "Generation Terrorists should be celebrated, because among its messy feast of ideas it remembers to be fun. There's a cleansing and creative glee in its righteous rage and cultural destruction that's rarer in Gold Against the Soul and The Holy Bible." AllMusic wrote, "Since the Manics deliver these charged lyrics as heavy guitar-rockers, the music doesn't always hit quite as forcefully as intended", stating that the "relatively polished production and big guitar sound occasionally sell the music short, especially the lesser songs", but calling the band's passion "undeniable, even on the weaker cuts [...] Debut albums rarely come as ambitious as the Manic Street Preachers' Generation Terrorists."

NME listed Generation Terrorists as the 18th greatest debut album from the last 50 years, describing the record as "angry as it was bright, the Manics blowtorched their manifesto in pulverising punk guitar squeals." In a 2012 "In Depth" feature, Dom Gourlay of Drowned in Sound declared Generation Terrorists to be the most important debut of the 1990s. In a February 2011 issue of Q it was voted by readers at #77 in "The 250 Best Albums of Q's Lifetime" featuring albums between 1986 and 2011. The same magazine gave the record the award for Classic album in the Q Awards in 2012.

Personnel

 * Manic Street Preachers

 * James Dean Bradfield – lead vocals, lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars
 * Richey Edwards (credited as Richey James) – rhythm guitar (credited but does not perform)
 * Sean Moore – drum programming, drums, percussion, backing vocals
 * Nicky Wire – bass guitar

 * Additional personnel

 * Dave Eringa – piano, organ on "Nat West–Barclays–Midlands–Lloyds", "You Love Us", "Spectators of Suicide" and "Crucifix Kiss"
 * Richard Cottle – keyboards on "Motorcycle Emptiness"
 * Traci Lords – vocals on "Little Baby Nothing"
 * Spike Edney – keyboards on "Little Baby Nothing"
 * May McKenna – backing vocals on "Another Invented Disease"
 * Jackie Challenor – backing vocals on "Another Invented Disease"
 * Lorenza Johnson – backing vocals on "Another Invented Disease"

 * Technical personnel

 * Steve Brown – production, engineering, mixing
 * Matt Ollivier – engineering
 * Owen Davies – mixing
 * Marc Williams – mixing assistance
 * Nicholas Sansano – remixing on "Repeat (Stars and Stripes)"
 * Frank Rivaleau – remixing on "Repeat (Stars and Stripes)"
 * Dan Wood – remixing on "Repeat (Stars and Stripes)"
 * Tom Sheehan – photography
 * Valerie Phillips – photography
 * Paul Slattery – photography
 * Steve Guillick – photography
 * Ed Sirrs – photography
 * Paul Cox – photography

Charts and certifications

 * Certifications

title: Generation Terrorists


text:
Talk:Diaspora (novel)

an old section
I modified the synopsis a bit -- my recollection (seemingly backed up on Egan's home page http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/ ) is that the novel is much more focused on the polis' desire to understand the cascading cosmic catastrophes and that the ET aspect is a consequence of that. Probably a better job could still be done by someone more intimately familiar with the book. Jgm 16:03, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Loved this book.
This book was an excellent read. I just read it a few months ago and it's not lost anything with the passage of time... :-)

 * This talk page is for discussions about the Wikipedia article, not about the subject of the article. Acasson (talk) 15:31, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

"Polises"
Wasn't "polities" the plural of "polis" in the novel? (Just from memory: I don't have my copy to hand) -- Karada 17:25, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

 * Nope. End of chapter 1 -- "Welcome to the Coalition of Polises". 4.253.46.181 22:40, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

16 December 2006 rewrite
I've just submitted a rewrite/expansion of the article, and included a provisional infobox (it's the first infobox I've done), which is based on the paperback version I have. It's a Gollancz paperback, with a yellow cover, featuring a reddish, thermal-imagey comet and a starry background. Strangely, the artist isn't credited anywhere on the book. What a book!

Gardener of Geda 06:08, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

23 December 2006 update
I've just submitted a new version, with a completed infobox and a scan of the cover. It's not the first-edition cover; I couldn't find one that I considered to be "legal" to upload, so I just scanned my own copy.

Gardener of Geda 15:47, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

hardware
Isn't it mentioned somewhere that the polis has backups scattered about the Solar System? —Tamfang 23:41, 11 April 2007 (UTC)

 * Inoshiro says so during the "trimming" (deflection of an asteroid that might someday be a threat). —Tamfang (talk) 03:35, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

spoiler warning
Shouldn't there be one somewhere before the plot summary?

It's... it's... uhhhm... it's the plot summary. Those words alone should be a spoiler warning. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.164.231.230 (talk) 18:03, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

pronouns
What's meant by "virtualized gender-neutral pronouns"? —Tamfang 22:23, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

 * I changed this and included information from the gender-neutral pronouns article. I don't think the "v" in ve/vis/ver stands for anything at all. -Father Inire 22:48, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

 * I think I see. Isn't there an asexual (corporeal) character in Distress who uses ve? —Tamfang 08:40, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

 * Yes, and Keri Hulme, who coined the term, identifies as an asexual. I don't remember whether the term pops up in any of Egan's other work featuring intelligent software.-Father Inire 02:09, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

new sections at the bottom, please
I just finished this book, and I've got my copy on hand. This whole article is really very.... well, A) it doesn't describe the book very well, B) what it does describe is so full of spoilers it isn't even worth putting in a spoiler warning, you might as well just say, "don't read this article if you also intend to read this book." and, C) some of it is just plain uninformative. I've gone ahead and done a significant rewrite, I've tried to streamline things as much as possible, I've added in important information and removed unimportant information, and I got rid of a number of absurdly, rediculously large spoilers. Some sample modifications: I've significantly altered the plot section to not give away large chunks of the plot (neutron messages, Transmuters, that sort of thing), I've removed a profusion of characters from the characters section, keeping only those characters who either appear before the Diaspora or whose mention cannot give away plot points not already given away in readily available publicity materials (Egan's website). I don't know how much information on Kozuch Theory should be in the plot summary, but I'd like to move the gender-neutral pronouns bit (it's only like a few sentences) to the plot summary right after the bit on the invented Kozuch Theory. If any of you think any of these changes were bad and damaged the article irreperably, feel free to change back (not revert, change back specifically the parts you disagree with, please) but I'd like to know why, just out of curiosity.

No offence to people who have contributed to this thing before me, but when I picked up this book I was horrified to realise just how much this article gave away of the plot and how little justice it seemed to do (again, no offence, it just struck me as emphasising all the wrong things).

P.S. I'd like to include some sort of summary of the book's... "gist," not just the plot's gist but the ideas that float around in the book like the future of life in a space-faring world and of personhood and so on, which I hope can be discussed without giving away major plot points, considering how important they are to interpretations of the book itself. Thanks for your contributions, all.216.129.211.105 (talk) 07:59, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

 * You read the article before reading the book? --Closedmouth (talk) 08:13, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

I think that you have done the community a disservice by stripping out information from this article. I just finished the book and read this article in the hopes of finding some background information on the characters and concepts. To say that the information ought to be stripped out to prevent plot spoilage for those who haven't read the book, I think misses the point entirely. If you read a wikipedia entry about a book before you read the book, aren't you doing things in the wrong order? In any case, what possible benefit could there be in removing certain character profiles? That certainly seemed to me to be a haphazard and poorly considered edit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.196.154.118 (talk) 05:33, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

 * A lot of the stuff I removed, I felt, was not very informative. An example of a character profile I got rid of was a one sentence introduction to the Contingency Handler. I can't remember all the others. Before I made the modifications, the article seemed to imply that the book was solely about hunting down aliens. The plot description went something like (abridged): "the earth is destroyed, and the Diaspora is formed to look for aliens, and then they discover a message hidden in neutrons, and then they discover a way to leave the universe." What sort of background information were you looking for? I've been interested in modifying the sections on polis concepts and polises, just to... clean them up a bit, perhaps make them a little bit truer to the index in the back of the book. Any suggestions? Should there be a section on Kozuch Theory?216.129.211.105 (talk) 08:45, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

Gabriel
I didn't edit the article, because maybe this is a matter of opinion (though I have a faint recollection of it being stated explicitly), but isn't the fact that Gabriel has a gender a consequence of being a Carter-Zimmerman native (and thus more fond of certain ancestral conventions) rather than an "eccentric" personal choice? Maybe I missed something, but that was my impression.72.49.11.230 (talk) 19:04, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Diaspora(GollanczPB).jpg
Image:Diaspora(GollanczPB).jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 20:36, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

Gleisner definition
The meaning of "gleisner" has been removed a couple of times by German-speakers unfamiliar with the word. The word does appear in some German-English dictionaries, but not all of them, so I imagine it's just an obscure word. As a native English speaker, I'll admit that there may be many words in the English dictionary which I'm not familiar with either. The link to the Webster's site works just fine as far as I can tell, and I've restored it. Father Inire (talk) 21:12, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

 * I think the question is, does giving the German definition of the word provide any information about the subject of the article (the novel)? I'd say no; there's no indication from Egan (that I know of) that the word was chosen based upon any meaning in any language (of course if there is such an indication it could be included here and referenced).  As it stands this is just random digression or, at best, original research.  Jgm (talk) 02:39, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

 * I'm with Jgm. There's nothing within the novel to explain the origin of the name.  So unless there's some source out there that makes this connection (with all the usual caveats about the quality of that source), this definition shouldn't be in here.  I would be interested to know if Egan chose the name on the basis of some translation or the "sound" of it, but unless we can source a meaning, it's just WP:OR.  As an aside, the cited German definition sheds no light whatsoever on the gleisner's of the novel.  It's difficult to see how the terms "hypocrite" or "dissembler" apply to them as they are portrayed in the novel.  I'll remove the text for now, but we can discuss further here as required.  --Plumbago (talk) 07:41, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

 * The definition itself isn't original research, so in my opinion it would be trivia at worst (and there's plenty of trivia in Wikipedia articles - I thought it was better to incorporate this trivia into the article rather than start a trivia section). I loaned someone my copy of Diaspora, so I can't go back and check the text for now, but as I recall the fleshers and polis dwellers are somewhat prejudiced against the gleisners to the extent that they're essentially banned from living on Earth, and the polis dwellers have little to do with them. My interpretation (this part is indeed original research) is that the fleshers and the polis dwellers see the gleisners as hypocritical and dishonest because they imitate biological life in form while their minds exist "only" as software - not totally embracing either "pure" experience. Father Inire (talk) 17:49, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

 * I'd buy this explanation. Certainly, as far as the fleshers and polis-dwellers are concerned, the gleisners fall between two stools: they reject biology (unlike the fleshers), but wish to maintain close contact with the "real world" (unlike the polis dwellers).  Anyway, while I would completely agree that WP has far (far!) more egregious examples of WP:TRIVIA, I'm reluctant to add this here because of its WP:OR overtones.  Perhaps we need to contact Egan (presumably he has an e-mail address?), proffer appropriate and abundantly-justified praise, and then pop the question?  :-)  --Plumbago (talk) 14:30, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

 * I read somewhere that gleisner means 'one who wants to have it both ways'. Wish I could remember where; it's not in my dictionary.  The applicability is obvious.  —Tamfang (talk) 07:07, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Personal communication from the author: ''It wasn't intended to mean anything. "Gleisner" is just a surname, the ethnicity of which I've never bothered to check [it's hard to believe it's a German name, if it really does mean "hypocrite" in German!], which I heard and liked the sound of. Its use was simply meant to attribute the robots' design to a fictitious human inventor.'' —Tamfang (talk) 11:30, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

 * Brilliant. Nice work Tamfang.  Cheers, --Plumbago (talk) 11:48, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

 * OK, thanks for clearing that up. Father Inire (talk) 21:43, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

 * In his short story Transition Dreams, which has a near-future setting (featured in the Luminous collection) Egan illustrates the early days of 'Gleisner', obviously a corporation dealing in pre-introdus uploads to robot bodies ......... "Caroline Bausch smiles, reassuringly. Her office, on the sixty-fourth floor of the Gleisner Tower, is so stylish it hurts--her desk is an obsidian ellipse supported by three perspex circles, and the walls are decorated with the latest in Euclidean Monochrome--but she's not at all the kind of robot the cool, geometric decor seems to demand". Kind of like the Trump Tower - but different. Caroline reminds me of Rachel from Blade Runner, minus the "do you like our owl" speech. Hi, Greg. Great book! -- DropShadow (talk) 01:23, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

motivation of the Introdus
The repeated hostility to exponential replicators (as represented, at one point, by a Coca-Cola can!), and a mention that the fleshers have unlimited discretion in modifying the environment only within small enclaves, suggest to me that the original Introdus – a scary leap into the unknown for most people – was driven by environmental collapse. Is there anything else to support or contradict this? Is there a passage stating or implying that the biosphere had "recovered" since 2100? —Tamfang (talk) 07:14, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

 * Yes; the coke-can scenario was very good. I didn't "get it" until my second read. "PreIntrodus, this was pandemic. Distorted whole nations’ economies. It had hooks into everything: sexuality, tribalism, half a dozen artforms and subcultures ... it parasitized the fleshers so thoroughly you had to he some kind of desert monk to escape it". No; I don't think there's anything said about the Introdus being motivated by environmental collapse, or anything like that. People probably uploaded because .... well .... if they didn't, they'd eventually suffer the indignities of old age and die. Or get run over by a bus while they were deciding. Presumably, in the early days, there was a lot of communication between the citizens and those who were still "outside". When your friends and relations who have uploaded tell you that it's "great in here" and "I still feel like me" it must be very reassuring. Or something. -- DropShadow (talk) 01:52, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

 * I agree with this explanation as it is quite consistent with some of the subplots in Permutation City (that novel also a great read by the way). Mr. Shoeless (talk) 15:29, 29 November 2009 (UTC)

 * There's no sign of old age in Atlanta, is there? —Tamfang (talk) 20:53, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

 * Probably because all the really old ones were kept indoors in case visitors (ie polis-controlled robots, etc) noticed them and become alarmed and/or embarrassed. And quite right too. DropShadow (talk) 19:31, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

 * It now occurs to me that the can incident happened close to the home of The Coca-Cola Company. I must ask the author whether that was intentional (or even conscious; would an Australian know that?). —Tamfang (talk) 03:40, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

 * Clearly an anti-corporate statement. Or he's a Pepsi man. DropShadow (talk) 19:31, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

 * Radiya (Yatima's math teacher) says: "Exponential growth is a curse in all its forms. You know it almost wiped out the fleshers?" —Tamfang (talk) 04:10, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

reality
A new passage:
 * Certain assumptions, common to Greg Egan literature, are made to enable the plot, such as the digital mutability of reality (that there is no difference between any real thing and a sufficiently similar mathematical replica of that thing).

I don't see any of that, at least as the motif appears in some of his other works. The polis assumes that a real thing can be simulated with arbitrary accuracy, but a view that simulation is equivalent to reality is held only (if at all) by the most solipsistic of the uploads. —Tamfang (talk) 10:34, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

the nature of Gestalt

 * Gestalt is rather entirely or almost entirely subconscious.

What's the evidence for that? On the contrary, when Blanca taught Yatima to follow location-tags, Yatima had to examine them and learn their significance. —Tamfang (talk) 11:41, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

 * I can't remember Egan specifically stating that Gestalt was broadcast or received subconsciously. The writer of that piece probably means Gestalt, as an evolution of qualities like facial expressions and gestures is something that once learned becomes hardwired and unnecessary for the conscious self to worry too much about, just like with us fleshers. I'm confusing myself, really. -- DropShadow (talk) 02:22, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Reviews needs changing
The reviews section is clearly in need of changing. Also, there is far more information about in world events that information about the book regarding the real world. I have no objection to this per se, but there should be at least a paragraph about the reception of the book rather than links to reviews. --Rubiksphere (talk) 23:33, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

Delta

 * Delta primarily function as filters ...

Can someone explain/cite this? As I understood it, delta is simply the representation of a meter (length) in scape-space. A scape is a self-contained universe; its distance from other scapes cannot be measured any more meaningfully than the distance between paragraphs in different books. —Tamfang (talk) 21:15, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

 * I've removed it. The editor who added it can always re-add and explain what he means. Full text was "Delta primarily function as filters, used or ignored at will, which allow citizens, scapes, and other polis objects to remain uninvolved with unrelated polis entities, unless they make a connection specifically through will or necessity."DropShadow (talk) 19:23, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

 * During the "trimming": People began shouting excitedly, their words [...] degraded with distance by the scape, scrambled into a pulsating roar. That could be considered a sort of filtering. —Tamfang (talk) 04:20, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

External links modified
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mis-corrections
Recently I have twice undone a mistaken "correction" of verself to herself. I've added a comment <!--THIS IS NOT A TYPO--> but is there a way to protect from automatic typo-hunters? —Tamfang (talk) 05:32, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

 * verself —Tamfang (talk) 22:52, 16 June 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Diaspora (novel)


text:
Mount Sterling

Mount Sterling may refer to:

United States

 * Mount Sterling, Alabama, an unincorporated community
 * Mount Sterling, Illinois, a city and county seat
 * Mount Sterling, Indiana, an unincorporated community
 * Mount Sterling, Iowa, a city
 * Mount Sterling, Kentucky, a home rule-class city
 * Mount Sterling, Missouri, an unincorporated community
 * Mount Sterling, North Carolina, a mountain
 * Mount Sterling, Ohio, a village
 * Mount Sterling, Wisconsin, a village
 * Mount Sterling Township, Brown County, Illinois

title: Mount Sterling


text:
Victoria, Hong Kong

The City of Victoria, (, or ) often called Victoria City or simply Victoria, was the de facto capital of Hong Kong during its time as a British dependent territory. It was initially named Queenstown but was soon known as Victoria. It was one of the first urban settlements in Hong Kong and its boundaries are recorded in the Laws of Hong Kong. All government bureaux and many key departments still have their head offices located within its limit.

Present-day Central is at the heart of Victoria City. Although the city expanded over much of what is now Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui, Lung Fu Shan, Sai Ying Pun, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, Happy Valley, the Mid-Levels, East Point and parts of Causeway Bay, the name Victoria has been eclipsed by Central in popular usage. However, the name is still used in places such as Victoria Park, Victoria Peak, Victoria Harbour, Victoria Prison, and a number of roads and streets. It is also retained in the names of various organisations such as the Victoria City District of the Hong Kong Scout, and the Victoria Junior Chamber. The name Victoria District Court had been used into the 1980s,   when it was moved to the Wanchai Tower and combined with other district courts in the territory.

History
"City of Victoria" had appeared on the statute books early in the 1845, although names such as "Town of Victoria" can be found as well. Letters patent that formally confers the city status and creates the City of Victoria was made on 11 May 1849.

In 1857, the British government expanded the scope of Victoria City and divided it into four wans. The four wans are Sai Wan ("West Ring" in Chinese, present-day Sai Wan, including Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui, and Sai Ying Pun), Sheung Wan ("Upper Ring" in Chinese, present-day Sheung Wan), Choong Wan or Chung Wan ("Central Ring" in Chinese, present-day Central) and Ha Wan ("Lower Ring" in Chinese, present-day Wan Chai). "Sai Wan", "Sheung Wan" and "Choong Wan" retain the same name in Chinese today.

The four wans are further divided into nine yeuks (, similar to "district" or "neighbourhood"). The coverage also included parts of East Point and Happy Valley (West of Wong Nai Chung Road on the east side of the racecourse). In 1903, boundary stones were established to mark the city's boundary and six of them are still preserved today. The stones spread from Causeway Bay to Kennedy Town.

In the 1890s, Victoria extended four miles west to east along the coastal strip. Buildings were made of granite and brick. Buses and the new tramway would become the main form of transportation in the area.

The city is centred in present-day Central, and named after Queen Victoria in 1843. It occupies the areas known in modern times as Central, Admiralty, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, East Point, Shek Tong Tsui, the Mid-levels, the Peak, Happy Valley, Tin Hau, and Kennedy Town, on Hong Kong Island.

Boundaries
The city boundaries are defined in the laws of Hong Kong as follows:

 * On the north – The Harbour;
 * On the west – A line running due north and south drawn through the north-west angle of Inland Lot No. 1299 and extending southwards a distance of 850 feet from the aforesaid angle;
 * On the south – A line running due east from the southern extremity of the western boundary until it meets a contour in the vicinity of the Hill above Belchers 700 feet above principal datum, that is to say, a level 17.833 feet below the bench-mark known as "Rifleman's Bolt", the highest point of a copper bolt set horizontally in the east wall of the Royal Navy Office and Mess Block Naval Dockyard, and thence following the said contour until it meets the eastern boundary;
 * On the east – A line following the west side of the Government Pier, Bay View and thence along the west side of Hing Fat Street, then along the north side of Causeway Road to Moreton Terrace. Thence along the west side of Moreton Terrace to the south-east corner of Inland Lot No. 1580 and produced in a straight line for 80 feet, and thence along the north side of Cotton Path and produced until it meets the west side of Wong Nei Chong Road on the east side of Wong Nei Chong Valley and thence to the south-east angle of Inland Lot No. 1364, produced until it meets the southern boundary.

Boundary stones
In 1903, the Hong Kong Government erected several boundary stones to mark the limits of Victoria, measuring 98 cm in height, tapered at the top and with the inscription "City Boundary 1903". As the city’s boundaries were clearly defined by ordinance, these stones were more just physical markers.

Three additional boundary stones were found in 2021, adding the total of discovered stones to 10, including the one disappeared in June 2007.

Districts
In 1866 the nine districts, also called yeuks, are:

 * Shek Tong Tsui
 * Sai Ying Pun
 * Taipingshan, a neighborhood near Sheung Wan that shared its name with Victoria Peak
 * Sheong Wan
 * Choong Wan North and South, known in modern times as Central in English
 * Ha Wan, today's Admiralty and Wan Chai
 * Wan Chai
 * Bowrington, between today's Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, known also as Ngo Keng
 * So Kun Poo.

Other places that might be considered as yeuks include:
 * Kennedy Town
 * Happy Valley
 * Causeway Bay

title: Victoria, Hong Kong


text:
HSBC Building (Hong Kong)

HSBC Main Building is a headquarters building of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which is today a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based HSBC Holdings. It is located on the southern side of Statue Square near the location of the old City Hall, Hong Kong (built in 1869, demolished in 1933). The previous HSBC building was built in 1935 and pulled down to make way for the current building. The address remains as 1 Queen's Road Central (the north facing side of the building was served by Des Voeux Road Central, which was the seashore, making Queen's Road the main entrance, in contrast to the current primary access coming from Des Voeux Road).

First building
The first HSBC (then known as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Company Limited) building was Wardley House, used as an HSBC office between 1865 and 1882 on the present site. In 1864 the lease cost HKD 500 a month. After raising a capital of HKD 5 million, the bank opened its doors in 1865.

Second building
Wardley House was subsequently demolished and replaced by a second HSBC building that was completed in 1886. The main feature of the second building design was the division of the structure into two almost separate buildings. The building on Queen's Road Central was in Victorian style with a verandah, colonnades and an octagonal dome, whereas an arcade which harmonised with the adjacent buildings was constructed on Des Voeux Road. It was designed by Clement Palmer in 1883.

Third building
In 1934, the second building was demolished and a third design was erected. The new building opened in October 1935. Upon completion, the building stood as the tallest building in Hong Kong and "the largest building in the Far East", "the tallest structure in South East Asia", and "tallest building between Cairo and San Francisco". The third design used part of the land of the old City Hall, and was built in a mixed Art Deco and Stripped Classical style. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong between 1941 and 1945, the building served as the government headquarters. It was the first building in Asia to be fully air-conditioned. By the 1970s, the bank had outgrown its headquarters; departments were scattered into offices all over Central, and it was obvious that such a "solution" to the space limitations could not continue indefinitely. In 1978, the bank decided to tear down its headquarters and construct a new, larger headquarters building.

Current building
The new building is a steel suspended structure and was finished on 18 November 1985. At the time, it was the most expensive building in the world (c.a. HK$5.2 billion, roughly US$668 million).

The first major addition to the building, designed by Hong Kong's One Space Ltd, was completed on 23 November 2006, in the form of a ground floor lobby that improves security access to the upper floors and creates a prestigious reception area. Its design and construction included the installation of the "Asian Story Wall", a multimedia installation consisting of twin banks of 30 seamless plasma screens (the largest installation of its kind in Hong Kong) displaying archived bank heritage and artworks.

The atrium of the HSBC building was the site of the Occupy Hong Kong protests which maintained a presence in the building from 15 October 2011 until their eviction in September 2012.

Design
The new building was designed by the British architect Norman Foster and civil & structural engineers Ove Arup & Partners with service design by J. Roger Preston & Partners. It was constructed by the John Lok / Wimpey Joint Venture. From the concept to completion, it took seven years (1978–1985). The building is 180 metres high with 47 storeys and four basement levels. The building has a modular design consisting of five steel modules, which were prefabricated in the UK by Scott Lithgow Shipbuilders near Glasgow and shipped to Hong Kong. About 30,000 tons of steel and 4,500 tons of aluminium were used.

The original design was heavily inspired by the Douglas Gilling designed Qantas International Centre in Sydney (currently known as Suncorp Place).

The new lobby and its two-part Asian Story Wall were designed by Greg Pearce, of One Space Limited. Pearce was also the Principal Architect of the Hong Kong Airport Express (MTR) station. Conceived as a minimalist glass envelope, the new lobby is designed to be deferential to Foster's structure and appears almost to be part of the original.

A notable feature is that natural sunlight is the major source of lighting inside the building. There is a bank of giant mirrors at the top of the atrium, which can reflect natural sunlight into the atrium and hence down into the plaza. Through the use of natural sunlight, this design helps to conserve energy. Additionally, sun shades are provided on the external facades to block direct sunlight going into the building and to reduce heat gain. Instead of fresh water, sea water is used as coolant for the air-conditioning system.

The building is also one of the few to not have lifts as the primary carrier of building traffic. Instead, lifts only stop every few floors, and floors are interconnected by escalators.

Structural features
The main characteristic of HSBC's Hong Kong headquarters is its absence of internal supporting structure. The inverted 'va' segments of the suspension trusses spanning the construction at double-height levels is the most obvious characteristic of the building. It consists of eight groups of four aluminium-clad steel columns which ascend from the foundations up through the core structure, and five levels of triangular suspension trusses which are locked into these masts.

All flooring is made from lightweight movable panels, under which lies a comprehensive network of power, telecommunication, and air-conditioning systems. This design was to allow equipment such as computer terminals to be installed quickly and easily. Because of the urgency to finish the project, the construction of the building relied heavily on off-site prefabrication; components were manufactured all over the world. For example, the structural steel came from Britain; the glass, aluminium cladding and flooring came from the United States while the service modules came from Japan.

Feng shui
The early British settlers in Hong Kong had an interest in feng shui; thus, most of the earliest buildings in Hong Kong, and many buildings constructed thereafter, were built with the philosophies of feng shui in mind. The Chinese believe that those who have a direct view of a body of water—whether it is a river, a sea, or an ocean—are more likely to prosper than those who do not (water is strongly associated with wealth in feng shui). The HSBC building has a wide open area (the Statue Square) in front of it, with no other buildings blocking its view of Victoria Harbour; thus, it is considered to have "good feng shui".

In the CBC Television series Doc Zone episode "Superstitious Minds", Writer, Researcher & Associate Producer Tom Puchniak asserts that the design of the nearby Bank of China Tower ignored feng shui principles, and created instant controversy by evoking two knife edges, one pointing towards the British Government House, another towards the HSBC building. After the Bank of China building opened, a series of mishaps occurred, including the death of the Governor, and a downturn in the city's economy. It is alleged that HSBC installed two maintenance cranes on the roof, pointing directly at the Bank of China, to defend against the negative energy from the Bank of China building. According to feng shui master Paul Hung, this solved the problem, and HSBC experienced "no harmful results after that."

Lion statues
When HSBC decided to build its third headquarters at 1 Queen's Road Central, opened in 1935, it commissioned two bronze lions from Shanghai-based British sculptor W. W. Wagstaff. This commission was inspired by two earlier lions that had been ordered for the new Shanghai office opened in 1923. Cast by J W Singer & Sons in the English town of Frome, to a design by Henry Poole RA, these lions had quickly become part of the Shanghai scene, and passers-by would affectionately stroke the lions in the belief that power and money would rub off on them. They became known as Stephen and Stitt: Stephen was named for A. G. Stephen, the Chief Manager of HSBC in 1923, and G. H. Stitt, the then Shanghai Manager. Stephen is depicted roaring and Stitt is at rest, which was said to represent the characters of these two famous bankers.

Like the Shanghai lions, the Hong Kong lions became objects of veneration, and foci of the Bank's perceived excellent feng shui. People are known to still bring their children to stroke the paws and noses of the statues hoping for luck and prosperity.

During World War 2, the lions were confiscated by the Japanese and sent to Japan to be melted down. The war ended before this could happen, and the lions were recognised by an American sailor in a dockyard in Osaka in 1945. They were returned a few months later and restored to their original positions in October 1946.

During the demolition of the building in 1981, the lions were temporarily moved to Statue Square, opposite the main entrance. As a mark of the respect the lions were held in, the move to Statue Square and the move back in 1985 were accompanied by the chairman Sir Michael Sandberg and senior management of the Bank. The placement of the lions both temporarily and in their current locations was made only after extensive consultations with feng shui practitioners.

The lion named Stephen has shrapnel scars in its left hind-quarters dating from the fighting in the Battle of Hong Kong. When this pair of lions was used as the model for the pair commissioned for the new UK Headquarters of HSBC in 2002, Zambian-born New Zealand sculptor Mark Kennedy was asked not to reproduce these "war wounds" in the copies as the shrapnel marks were seen as historical battle-scars.

The following is a list of bronze copies and re-casts of the HSBC lions:
 * In Hong Kong:
 * Hong Kong (1935) – modelled on Shanghai originals; sculpted by W W Wagstaff, cast by Shanghai Arts and Crafts.
 * Hong Kong (replicas) (2015) – copies of Hong Kong lions; for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of HSBC; placed at the lobby of HSBC Centre, HSBC's back office headquarter in Hong Kong.
 * In China:
 * Shanghai (original) (1923) – sculpted by Henry Poole RA, cast by J W Stinger & Sons. The originals are held by the Shanghai Historic Museum (which currently has no permanent home) and are separately on display at the Museum's display room under the Oriental Pearl Tower (Stephen) and the Shanghai Banking Museum (Stitt), both in Lujiazui.
 * Shanghai (replicas) (c. 1997) – copies of Shanghai originals, commissioned by the government-owned Shanghai Pudong Development Bank after it obtained the former HSBC building.
 * Shanghai (current) (2010) – copies of Hong Kong lions.
 * In the United Kingdom
 * London (2001) – copies of Hong Kong lions; cast by Bronze Age Foundry, Limehouse, at the direction of Mark Kennedy.
 * Birmingham (2018) – copies of Hong Kong lions.

Various other HSBC branches throughout the world feature small-scaled replicas of these originals, with varying degrees of faithfulness. Other HSBC branches often feature guardian lions to different designs, such as Chinese guardian lions.

Lighting scheme

In 2003, the Hong Kong Tourism Board developed a harbour lighting plan called "A Symphony of Lights", a large-scale multimedia show featuring lighting, laser, music, and occasionally special pyrotechnics effects during festivals, to promote tourism in Hong Kong. The show was based on the illumination of key buildings on the Hong Kong Island side, and was best viewed from the Kowloon side across the Victoria Harbour. The HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building was one of the participating buildings in the show.

title: HSBC Building (Hong Kong)