This led to a career as producers and directors of theatre and outdoor shows. Alongside his brother Bolossy, Imre had begun his career as a dancer in the circus, but became fascinated with the technicalities of staging theatre spectaculars in Paris.

It was the Hungarian burlesque and theatre producer Imre Kiralfy (1845-1919) who connects the Olympia to Earls Court.

Its alsoĮstablished the Earls court as an important entertainment venue. Redskins Show' entertain the masses with its 'exact reproduction of daily scenes ofįrontier life.' The show was a huge success, drawing a crowd of 28,000 on the first dayĪlone, and had a huge influence on British fairgrounds for decades to come. The opening season saw 'Buffalo Bills Roughriders and Whitely took a scrap of wasteland isolated by theĬonstruction of the railways and transformed it into a pleasure ground of pavilionsĪnd gardens where people could be informed by cultural exhibitions and entertainedīy rides and sideshows. Nearby, The Earls Court started life in 1887 as a showground owned by entrepreneur The original Olympia was an exhibition hall located in West Kensington, London, He would be a persistent figure in the story as it unfolds. Not only was it his name that appeared on all the agreements and contracts in place, but it was his firm of Garlick and Sykes who produced the conceptual design. From the prospectus it is clear that Benjamin Sykes was the driving force behind the project. By 1879 he was a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers and in 1884 became the partner in the firm of Garlick and Sykes. He successfully learned his trade on regional engineering projects and went on to supervise Blackpool's sea defences from South Shore to Claremont Park and contributed to building the tram road to Fleetwood. Sykes was born in Skippool, Poulton le Fylde on 5 October, 1839 and apprenticed to civil engineering practice Park, Son & Garlick as soon as he finished school. We know little about the operating directors of the new project except for Benjamin Sykes.

'The following may serve to illustrate to what extent various undertakings in Blackpool have been patronised in 1893.

Earls court london olympic venue