News / Arts
Dismaland opens its doors
The first 1,000 people have entered Banksy’s Dismaland theme park in Weston-super-Mare.
People who live in the area were offered a free pass through the Weston Mercury ahead of the ‘bemusement park’ being opened to the general public on Saturday.
Queues for the limited number of tickets formed outside the Tropicana in the early hours of Friday morning and some people even camped overnight.
The Dismaland website repeatedly crashed on Friday morning too, as people from all over the world logged on to buy the £3 tickets.
A spokeswoman said the website had been visited by six million people by Friday morning, when the tickets finally went on sale.
Rumours were circulating that the website was a hoax, after thousands complained they could not process their purchases.
Banksy’s latest exhibition includes installations and artwork from 50 artists, including Damien Hirst and Bansky himself, who said he chose the venue after peering through a gap in the fence six months ago.
In a forward in his Dismaland programme, he wrote: “This is not your average sugar-coated fantasyland selling scrapings from the hollywood floor. No, we couldn’t afford the licence for that.
“Instead this is an attempt to build a different kind of family day out – one that sends a more appropriate message to the next generation – sorry kids. Sorry about the lack of meaningful jobs, global injustice and Channel 5.
“The fairytale is over, the world is sleepwalking towards climate catastrophe, maybe all that escapism will have to wait.”
Dismaland will be open seven days a week until September 27. Tickets are available for slots up to ten days in advance.
There are two admission slots a day. Some evening events will see the site host live bands, including Massive Attack, Pussy Riot and Kate Tempest.
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