All Good Fun at Speakers’ Corner

Loud voices spewing advice or generalising statements in a serene and green atmosphere. Soap box-mounted speakers, amused or indifferent passing public, poised hecklers, and many others – this is the scene at Speakers’ Corner. A bastion of free speech smeared with a bit of mindless theatrical entertainment, Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park is one of many attractions in London for tourists and locals alike.

Sunday mornings in Hyde Park turn into a socio-politico-religious battlefield where people engage in a war of words. Long forgotten topics of socialism, instances of alien invasion, moral damnation of every human being on earth, religious salvation or the proper way to eat a ham sandwich – all this can be discussed at Speakers’ Corner without any restrictions, as long as the topics are within the law and do not incite public violence.

 

History of Speakers’ Corner

Speakers’ Corner did not just randomly crop up to host a bunch of coherent, as well as incoherent, speakers. It has a history behind it which is parallel with Britain’s long tradition of free speech.

Since 1872, an Act of the Parliament has set aside this area of Hyde Park as Speakers’ Corner. This corner is located by Cumberland Gate in the north-east corner of Hyde Park. Furthermore, it has seen a history of soap box pontification on the right to assemble, right to vote and, most of all, the right to free speech.

Karl Marx, George Orwell and Vladimir Lenin have all marked the importance of this place with orations on various topics.

Democracy at Work

Requiring no limit on education, sealed invitation to speak or a stopwatch, Speakers’ Corner is grass roots democracy at work. The legacy and freedom accorded by Speakers’ Corner is such that it allows absolute strangers to fall into conversation with each other and battle out their opinions with a string of verbal communication or, in worst cases, verbal insults. Therefore this bastion of free speech allows anyone to start discourse on topics on which not everyone necessarily agrees. This corner does not shy away from being living commentary on the importance of unhindered speech.

Speak Freely

Speakers’ Corner embodies an oral tradition of verbal communication without the barrier of a computer or phone screen. Speakers’ Corner is also a place to witness the flow of thoughts in the minds of various people and hear hecklers wrestle it out with opposing views. The hecklers, forever ready to strike out at an inappropriate comment or distortion of facts, are an added attraction for those who want to see freedom of speech in action. We live in an age of Twitter and Facebook debates and haranguing of speakers on television screens. So Speakers’ Corner offers a respite for an experience of unmediated and personal debate.

For those looking for a camaraderie of arguments, Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park is a must visit. But maybe make sure you are caffeinated enough to heave yourself out of bed on a Sunday morning!

Address: Marble Arch, Hyde Park, London W2 2EU  Website: www.speakerscorner.net/  Opening times: 5am to 12am  Nearest tube station: Marble Arch

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