While the lido was described as bringing “modernism to the masses” on the British coast it was just the latest example of a trend that had been developing since Victorian times – transforming seaside towns into resorts for leisure and entertainment. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the fashion was for local authorities to build great piers stretching from the promenade out into the sea. The Eastbourne Pier, pictured here in May 1931, was erected between 1866 and 1870 to an ingenious design by Eugenius Birch, which saw the structure sitting on special cups allowing the supporting struts to “move” in bad weather. Arranged on the pier's 1,000-foot length were kiosks, a theatre, a ballroom and a camera obscura. 1931. (Photo by Aerofilms Collection via “A History of Britain From Above”)

This picture taken on February 16, 2017 in Fangshan village in China's coastal province Fujians, shows a villager performing the “eating flowers” ritual. Villagers in eastern China have a unique way of washing away the taint of evil spirits – by bathing in a shower of scorching sparks. (Photo by Johannes Eisele/AFP Photo)

Students training to be flight attendants hold books on their heads, chopsticks in their mouths, and papers in between their knees, as they take part in a standing posture practice at a vocational school in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China May 4, 2017. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

An Iraqi woman and foreigners use pair of compact discs as a filter to watch the partial solar eclipse in war-torn Baghdad, 29 March 2006. Without access to proper equipment to protect their eyes from the sun's rays, eclipse watchers in Iraq used makeshift filters. The moon blotted out the sun over northwest Africa early Wednesday, turning day into night in a total solar eclipse as it swept a shadowy path from the outer tip of Brazil to the steppes of Mongolia. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AFP Photo)

Talbot Lago T26 Grand sport SWB Saoutichik is displayed for auction during the Retromobile show in Paris, Tuesday, February 3, 2015. 60 rusting motors, which include a vintage Ferrari California Spider, a Bugatti and a very rare Maserati, were found gathering dust and hidden under piles of newspapers in garages and outbuildings at a property in France. The cars were collected from the 1950s to the 1970s by entrepreneur Roger Baillon, who dreamt of restoring them to their former glory and displaying them in a museum, but, his plans were dashed as his business struggled, forcing the sale of about 50 vehicles, to be auctioned off on Feb. 6. (Photo by Jacques Brinon/AP Photo)

Russia's synchronised swimming duet Aleksandr Maltsev (L) and Darina Valitova compete in the Mixed Duet Technical preliminary during the synchronised swimming competition at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan on July 25, 2015. (Photo by Christophe Simon/AFP Photo)

English actress Michelle Keegan at “The Jonathan Ross Show” TV show, Series 18, Episode 7 in London, United Kingdom on December 4, 2021. (Photo by Brian J. Ritchie/Hotsauce/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

“Kissing Booth” star Joey King (in blue wig) and “Game of Thrones” alum Maisie Williams laugh it up while enjoying a night on the town full of shots and karaoke in the second decade of September 2025. (Photo by Joey King/Instagram)