The Channel Tunnel, sometimes referred to informally as the Chunnel, is a 50.46 km (31.35-mile) undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone with Coquelles beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, it is 75 m (246 ft) below the sea bed and 115 m (377 ft) below sea level. At 37.9 km, it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world and is the third-longest railway tunnel in the world. The speed limit for trains through the tunnel is 160 km/h (99 mph). The tunnel is owned and operated by Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel.
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service in Western Europe, connecting Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a major London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of the same name and is adjacent to Waterloo East station on the South Eastern Main Line. The station is the terminus of the South West Main Line to Weymouth via Southampton, the West of England main line to Exeter via Salisbury, the Portsmouth Direct line to Portsmouth Harbour which connects with ferry services to the Isle of Wight, and several commuter services around west and south-west London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.
Waterloo is a London Underground station located beneath Waterloo National Rail station. As of 2023, it is the 2nd busiest station on the London Underground, with 70.33 million users. It is served by four lines: Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City.
High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a 109.9-kilometre (68.3-mile) high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel.
Old Street is a 1-mile (1.6 km) street in inner north-east Central London, England that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shoreditch High Street (south), Kingsland Road (north) and Hackney Road (east) in Shoreditch in the London Borough of Hackney.
St Pancras railway station, officially known since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a major central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is the terminus for Eurostar services from Belgium, France and the Netherlands to London. It provides East Midlands Railway services to Leicester, Corby, Derby, Sheffield and Nottingham on the Midland Main Line, Southeastern high-speed trains to Kent via Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International, and Thameslink cross-London services to Bedford, Cambridge, Peterborough, Brighton, Horsham and Gatwick Airport. It stands between the British Library, the Regent's Canal and London King's Cross railway station, with which it shares a London Underground station, King's Cross St Pancras.
Lambeth North is a London Underground station in the district of Lambeth, at the junction of Westminster Bridge Road and Baylis Road. It is on the Bakerloo line, between Waterloo and Elephant & Castle stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 1. It is located at 110 Westminster Bridge Road, and is the nearest tube station to the Imperial War Museum. In 2017, it was ranked the least-used Underground station in Zone 1.
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. His works of political and social commentary have appeared on streets, walls, and bridges throughout the world. His work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy says that he was inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist and founding member of the musical group Massive Attack.
Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames.
Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art.
Hercules Road runs north from Lambeth Road near Lambeth Palace, on the site of Penlington Place, in the London Borough of Lambeth, south London, England.
Benjamin Flynn, known professionally as Eine, is an English artist based in London.
Waterloo International station was the London terminus of the Eurostar international rail service from its opening on 14 November 1994 to its closure on 13 November 2007, when it was replaced by London St Pancras International as the terminal for international rail services following the opening of High Speed 1 (HS1). It was on the western side of London Waterloo mainline station but was managed and branded separately.
Blek le Rat is a French graffiti artist. He was one of the first graffiti artists in Paris, and has been described as the "Father of stencil graffiti".
The British Rail Class 373, known in France as the TGV TMST and branded by Eurostar as the Eurostar e300, is a French designed and Anglo-French built electric multiple unit train that was used for Eurostar international high-speed rail services from the United Kingdom to France and Belgium through the Channel Tunnel. Part of the TGV family, it was built with a smaller cross-section to fit the smaller loading gauge in Britain, was originally capable of operating on the UK third rail network, and has extensive fireproofing in case of fire in the tunnel. It is both the second longest—387 metres —and second fastest train in regular UK passenger service, operating at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph).
The Old Vic Tunnels was an underground arts venue and performance space beneath London Waterloo railway station. The space consisted of almost 30,000 square feet of unused railway tunnels. It officially opened its doors for the first time in 2009 and closed in March 2013.
Inkie is a London-based painter and street artist, originally from Clifton, Bristol. He is cited as being part of Bristol's graffiti heritage, along with Banksy, 3D and Nick Walker.
Steve Lazarides is a British-Greek Cypriot publisher, photographer, collector and curator. He has helped popularise street art and underground art.
Since the 1980s, the introduction of hip hop and electro music brought street art and graffiti to the UK on a large scale. This was further expanded with the introduction of custom made spray paint which allowed artists to create even more artistic and experimental graffiti. Notably, Banksy is arguably one of the most famous graffiti artists in the UK, but it was the crews such as DryBreadZ who first gained recognition. Examples of UK graffiti artists include: Banksy, Stik, Inkie and My Dog Sighs.
Graffiti from the 2008 Cans Festival included Banksy's Injured Buddha (left) and Sten Lex's Saint (right)
Leake Street tunnel. 2023
Leake Street tunnel. 2019
Leake Street tunnel. 2018
Leake Street tunnel. 2016
