Speakers’ Corner

A very special place in London… where people can come and start speeches about whatever topic they like.
What’s fun is that anybody can react or ask questions so it becomes a debat…
Lots of religious topics but when I was there, i heard debate about nuclear energy and democracy in Africa…
Quite unique and interesting.
It’s free, it’s a public place.

This is democracy in action including ALL of the nut jobs!
It really varies in quality but Speakers’ Corner is one of my favourite spots in London (there I said it). It oozes crazy but every so often you get some really cool speakers where you can learn a lot.
I’ve once been to hear about the history of immigration in the UK, another time I witnessed a heated debate about how many wives a man should be allowed.
Grab an ice-​cream, sit down in front of a good speaker or just enjoy the drama!

Crikey, I am the first Englishman here writing up one of our national treasures ?!!
I wonder if any of the previous reviewers had the experience of actually standing up here and orating to a milling crowd of bewildered onlookers. If not then You should give it a go and exercise your democratic right to speak in public about whatever topic you believe in. George Orwell, Lenin & Marx have had their moment here and so can you. The wiki page can give you all the history but one visit puts it bang into perspective.
Avoid profanities where possible or you risk getting nicked but, other than that, you can say what you like and then get ready to deal with the hecklers … one of these classics may shut them up or lead to a rapid exit … you choose !!
Thanks for the feedback friend, I’ve only had few minutes here to make a fool of myself but it’s obvious you’ve had years of practice.
If I throw a stick, will you leave?
Why don’t you go into that corner and finish evolving.
Make a mental note. .. oh, I see you’re out of paper
So, are you just visiting this planet?
Look mate, it’s all right to donate your brain to science but shouldn’t you have waited till you died?
Your village just called, they’re missing an idiot?
Your bus leaves in 10 minutes… Be under it
Ignorance can be cured. Stupid is forever
#getitoffurchest

On Market Street in San Francisco you avoid these folks like the plague. Walk on by, make no eye contact, keep moving. Here at Speaker’s Corner you seek them out, a fact that amuses me to no end.
I dragged the boys here on a Sunday just like my mom dragged me so many years before. It’s something to see, even if you can technically see it back home and would never choose to. It’s Speaker’s Corner, a section of Hyde Park given over to anyone who cares to come here and preach aloud on any topic of their choosing, the only rule being no profanity allowed.
It’s an interesting little spectacle of kooks and nuts ranting about 9/​11, Arabs vs. Jews, Jesus Saves and not much more. Those, at least, were the topics being shouted on the day of my visit. I wished to hear some topics that I cared more passionately about and that I could actually partake in a dialogue on. Marriage Equality, for instance; I’d have loved to hear someone ranting against that, for heckling and engagement is encouraged. On this topic I could actually heckle and engage passionately. The ones under discussion? Not so much.
It might eat up 30 minutes of your day to check this place out but it’s worth your time if only to try and envision something similar in the states. I’d defend such an enterprise under the same logic that Howard Stern once defended the right to tattoo your face: Anyone who’d do so is crazy; this way we can identify the crazies more easily. See the logic?

Eigentlich was für mich, der am liebsten große Reden schwingt, hier könnte ich mal zeigen, was ich wirklich drauf hab. Darf man hier eigentlich auch fremdsprachig reden oder ausschliesslich auf Englisch?
Hier darf jeder sprechen, der etwas zu sagen hat! Eine Institution in London!
Ich finde das eine absolut klasse Sache!!!

Ever heard of Wladimir Iljitsch Uljanow? To the world he’s better known as Lenin, mastermind of the Russian Revolution. But you surely know Karl Marx, the German philosopher. And how about His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular? Well, quite a title you must admit. In short, that would be Mr. Idi Amin Dada, once the brutal President of Uganda. And you definitely are familiar with the writer of 1984 and Animal Farm, George Orwell. What do all these famous men have in common, together with other more or less important people? They have been at this place, spoken to their audience or have been amongst the listeners at Speaker’s Corner, Hyde Park, London. Maybe sometimes you have to listen carefully

Summary based on several visits:
–iconic sight; known globally
–individual speakers vary widely in competence and rationality
–pleasant environs
Probably best for 16+

Seit meiner ersten Klassenfahrt schaue ich immer, wenn ich an einem Sonntag in London bin, zumindest für eine kurze Stippvisite an der Speakers Corner im Hyde Park vorbei. Von Standleitern herab buhlen mehr oder weniger begabte Rhetoriker ums Publikum: Eiferer jeder religiösen Geschmacksrichtung, Verschwörungstheoretiker und Männer, die laut eigenem Bekunden «alles wissen» und daher alle erdenklichen Fragen zu beantworten bereit sind. Trotz der kontroversen Themen und persönlichen Konstellationen (Muslime vs. Juden, Religiöse vs. Atheisten, Kommunisten gegen Fans des freien Markts) habe ich nie wirklich hässliche Situationen erlebt. Am Ende gibt’s wieder ein bisschen britische Ironie, und alles ist gut.
Eine kurze Momentaufnahme aus dem August 2007:
Viele der Speaker sind jeden Sonntag da — auch mein Lieblingsredner, der lustig verkleidete Afrobrite The Horse/​Terminator 24, der das alles nicht ernst nimmt und sich statt eines monothematischen Vortrages lieber von den verbalen Bällen inspirieren lässt, die ihm von seinen Zuhörern zugeworfen werden. Ich halte ein kurzes Schwätzchen mit ihm und erfahre, dass er A) mal obdachlos war, B) nur für die Speakers Corner lebt und C) eine Website namens
hat, auf der er etwas ernsthafter sein könne.
Eine andere «alte Bekannte» ist Diana (wie jemand aus dem Publikum sie begrüßt). Die weißhaarige Lady sieht harmlos aus — bis sie den Mund öffnet. Sie begrüßt die Umstehenden mit den wütend herausgebrüllten Worten, wir seien alle unmoralische Dummköpfe.
Ich bekomme nicht mehr mit, was diesmal genau ihr Punkt ist (es geht um irgendwas mit Gott), denn von nebenan ertönt Gebrüll. Ein islamischer Prediger aus New York City erzählt, warum er seinem achtjährigem Sohn das Schießen beibringt, und streitet sich mit seinem Publikum. Drei englische Glatzköpfe, die umherlaufen, um möglichst viele Redner zu ärgern, schreien zurück.
Ein kurzes Video mit Terminator und Diana gibt’s hier:
Den Rest des Tages verbringe ich beim Notting Hill Carnival und kehre erst am Abend zum Hyde Park zurück, da dort ein mit dem Carnival verbundenes Open-​Air-​Konzert stattfindet. Beim Passieren der Speakers Corner bemerke ich Auflösungserscheinungen. Mittlerweile diskutiert das Publikum so wild untereinander, dass man gar nicht mehr so richtig mitbekommt, wer «Speaker» ist und wer nur mitquatscht. Hat auch was.

Speakers’ Corner is one of the great institutions of London — people have had a legal right to speak publicly here about anything since 1872 providing they don’t use obscene language
Speakers’ Corner can be found in the north east corner of Hyde Park. The nearest Tube station is Marble Arch
The busiest day tends to be Sunday and while any topic can be debated, the hot topics of religion, politics, moral issues and current affairs tend to dominate. You will find a wide variety of styles and opinions on offer. As you would expect, there is often discussion, debate and heckling but speakers have differing ways of dealing with it.
This is a taste of authentic London and if you venture here, you would be following in the footsteps of people such as Karl Marx, Lenin and George Orwell.