U.N.O. ASSEMBLY

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 150, 22 December 1945, Page 8

U.N.O. ASSEMBLY

THE MEETING PLAGE

ELABORATE PREPARATION

The New Year will find the delegates of 52 nations met together in London for the first General Assembly of the United Nations Organisation. The Assembly will sit in the Central Hall, Westminster, in a part of London rich in history and in associations with the long struggle for democracy and world freedom.

Opposite, the twin towers of Westminster Abbey rise tall and grey. A stone's throw away, across' Parliament Square, stand the Houses of Parliament, still bearing the scars of Gev-. man bombs; with St. Stephen's Hall, first meeting-place of commoners from all parts of Britain who gave the House of Commons its name, and centre of the mighty struggle between King and Parliament in Stuart times. Northward runs Whitehall with its great administrative Departments of State. And within sight and sound is Big Ben, marking th hours to remind delegates from countries occupied during World War II of the days when it chimed over Britain's radio to assure them that embattled London still held her head high. The Central Hill is the headquarters and largest meeting-place of the Methodist movement in Britain. The only free hall in London capable of accommodating the delegates to the Assembly, together with important visitors, Press and public, it has been loaned by the Methodist Church for a period which includes many weeks of preparation, as well as the five weeks or so, during which the Assembly is expected to sit. Preparations for the holding of the Assembly have been in full swing for some time. Throughout World War II labour shortage has made it impossible to redecorate or even undertake any large-scale cleaning of public buildings in Britain. So the Central Hall, like all other large meeting- , places, was scarcely in a fit state to I house the first General Assembly. Added to this, a large part of the hall has been usedv by the V.M.C.A. as a canteen and. social centre for the Forces, and suffered the inevitable wear and tear. PREPARING THE BUILDING. So, with the exception of the offices which have been retained by the Methodists, the building is being decorated, cleaned, and polished from top to bottom. And from the top in a literal sense, because the great hall in which the conference will take place jis spanned by an 86-feet high dome I which has been repainted in a light, bright cream. It has been possible to divert only a small labour force from the gigantic task of repairing and rebuilding Britain's bombed houses, but every man in the team has worked at double pressure. Before the dome could be cleaned and repainted, 150 tons of steel scaffolding and 3000 scaffold boards had to be erected. This 15 men did in four and a half days.

The decorations throughout are simple. The walls everywhere have been painted cream, and the traditional English dark oak panelling which half-lines the smaller conference rooms, Press rooms, and delegates' lounge has been repolished. All the dirt and grime of the war years have been scraped from the parquet floors, now waxed and polished and shining. Radiators have been repainted, new electric light fittings installed, and the Central Hall has been given a bright new garb which befits the setting for the first great attempt to set the world on the path towards peaceful co-operation.

HARMONIOUS COLOUR SCHEME

The delegates will sit in the arena of the great domed hall, for which a blue, gold, and beige scheme has been designed. The organ behind the dais has been screened with blue and gold drapes, and the orchestra seats below it covered with blue cloth. Blue upholstered beechwood chairs have been specially made for the delegates, on the pattern of those used at the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey in 1937. The three galleries above, seating nearly 2000, are reserved for Press I and radio . representatives, important visitors, and a limited number of the public. FACILITIES FOR ALL. The President of the Assembly has his own room leading directly on to the dais, and small conference rooms are available for committee use. A large, pleasant room with a big circular bay has been converted into a comfortable lounge for delegates, and telephones for their use installed close by. No restaurant facilities are available at Central Hall, but delegates will be able to get simple meals at Church House in the locality, where the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations Organisation is sitting. Elaborate arrangements for Press and radio representatives from all over the world have been made. Broadcasting studios have been specially built to connect directly with the gallery of the Assembly Hall, a large writing room has been reserved for the Press, and another room will house a Post Office and counters at which cables may be handed in. Both overseas and local telephone services have been laid on.

Merely housing the Assembly has been a big task in a capital just recoving from six years of war, and in the process' of patching up the damage of rriore than 2000 air raids. The additional problems of finding accommodation for delegates in a city which cannot house all its own citizens, or arranging transport with reduced transport facilities, hav£ laid a heavy burden on the Conference Department recently set up by Britain's Foreign Office to act, as it were, as host to the Assembly. But Britain, and London especially, is proud to be the meeting place of the first Assembly; and it is the hope of the people of Britain that in years to come they will look upon the Central Hall as the greatest of all Westminster's landmarks of freedom and peace.