1. We have our own Conservatory  
It's the biggest in London after Kew Gardens with over 1,500 species of plants and trees. Its original purpose was to hide part of our theatre fly tower - the tall building which holds scenery to be flown in on the stage of the Theatre below. In early design proposals, the Conservatory was envisioned inside a giant glass pyramid on the lake.  

2. There's a time capsule in our foundations  
It was laid in the early 1970s as building work got underway and has stayed untouched ever since. Jack Waller, an engineer who worked for a number of years from start to finish on the building site, filmed the time capsule being cemented in.   

3. The London Symphony Orchestra has recorded some of the most iconic movie soundtracks   
Our Resident Orchestra, the LSO, has recorded soundtracks for some of the biggest blockbuster movies including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music, plus many more.  

4. We nurture the next generation of creatives  
Every year we engage tens of thousands of children, young people and people from our local communities in learning activities, development programmes and events, providing the resources needed for more people to explore their creativity, develop their artistic practice and access jobs in the creative industries.  

5. There are two Banksy artworks on our famous concrete walls  
Inspired by our hugely popular Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition in 2017 titled, Basquiat: Boom For Real, Banksy paid us a clandestine visit just before the opening of the show and created two works overnight in homage to the pioneering New York artist.  

6. Our popular Martini Bar was inspired by a James Bond exhibition  
Believe it or not, but our Martini Bar started out as a pop-up bar in 2012 to cater to discerning Martini drinkers visiting our Designing 007 exhibition, and has been producing an exciting range of cocktails, both shaken and stirred, ever since.  

7. Lights, camera, action!  
The Barbican’s striking architecture has been the backdrop of numerous films and music videos for some of the biggest pop stars including Harry Styles’s hit 2022 single As It Was, Skepta's 2015 grime anthem Shutdown, and, of course, Kylie Minogue’s 2004 single Giving You Up featuring a giant 17-foot-high Kylie walking through the Barbican’s Beech Street.    

8. A revolutionary theatre  
On 8 October 1985, we presented the world premiere of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Les Misérables. The musical adaptation of a 19th century novel by Victor Hugo opened to initially unfavourable reviews. However, nearly 40 years later, Les Misérables is currently the world's longest running musical, and has played to more than 130 million people in 53 countries and 22 languages. And it all started in our theatre!    

9. A different kind of cinema experience  
The Barbican’s architects Chamberlin, Powell, and Bon had never designed a performing arts centre before they started working on the Barbican. As a result, when they were designing the cinema, they originally had the screen on the ceiling and the front row would have had moviegoers lying down on beds.  

10. Beyond our walls  
We often co-create events, from large-scale festivals to more-intimate talks and screenings, made by, for, and with our communities and neighbourhoods. We also offer community-led funding and grants which allows people to test new ideas and make things happen together in their local community.