Welcome to London’s Royal Albert Hall for the annual Fancy Dress Ball Chelsea Arts Cluba private club founded in 1891 (and still in existence) that recruits its members (as the name suggests) from the ranks of artists, sculptors, architects, writers, designers, actors, musicians, photographers and filmmakers.
Maybe it’s this artistic thematic orientation, but maybe it’s just the good old British willingness to party… Fact is, the New Year’s Ball, held from 1908 to 1958, had the reputation of being the most glaring, most spectacular and most outrageous event. are on the social agenda.
Here it was served with a grand premiere, with over 100 performers, lavish decorations and up to 4,000 dancers, all celebrating in costume on the Albert Hall dance floor. With exotic party themes such as “Egyptian”, “Noah’s Ark” or “Sun Worshipers”, guests danced into the early hours, until breakfast was finally served at 5am to close out the festivities.
The event was well attended by bohemians and celebrities – as well as ordinary Londoners. Elaborate, decadent, or at least skimpy costumes were required.
The reputation of the ultimate New Year’s Eve party was bolstered by reports of public nudity, explicit displays of affection, and open homosexuality (the latter at a time when it was still illegal). When gays were jailed for up to two years and/or subjected to chemical castration, the Chelsea Arts Ball was a place where gays could be themselves – without the scrutiny and surveillance that their everyday lives entailed.
The highlight of the party was the display of huge floats designed by famous artists. Over the years, it became a bizarre tradition to then vandalize those same cars, despite the best efforts of security to prevent the inevitable, as evidenced by this 1954 Pathé newsreel.
After 1958, the event was banned because the organizers (under insurance) could not take responsibility for the outrageous behavior of their revelers at the historic Royal Albert Hall.
What remains are images for eternity: