A Brazil fan waits for the start of the group A World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Croatia, the opening game of the tournament, in the Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, June 12, 2014. (Photo by Felipe Dana/AP Photo)

A student uses a ruler to measure the distance between forks before a formal dinner at The International Butler Academy China on September 16, 2014 in Chengdu, China. Over the last several years, there has been a surge in demand among China's wealthy for Western-trained butlers, with many academies seeing large portions of their graduating classes hired by Chinese families or companies. (Photo by Taylor Weidman/Getty Images)

People take pictures of the sunset in Berlin October 27, 2014. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

A believer dressed as a “diablo” (devil) jumps at the San Blas' (Saint Blaise) procession during the “Endiablada” festival in Almonacid del Marquesado, in central Spain February 3, 2015. In the “Endiablada”, an undated traditional festival in honour of the Candelaria Virgin and San Blas, believers are dressed in colourful costumes, wear a mitre with lead cowbells tied to their waists that ring as they wander around the village and in front of the saints' statues during their processions. (Photo by Susana Vera/Reuters)

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”)

Iraqi firefighters try to stop the fire of burning oil wells in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, 02 June 2016. Two Khabbaz oil field wells in Kirkuk Province, northern Iraq, exploded by suspected insurgents, a security official said. (Photo by EPA/Stringer)

Jorge (2nd R), 31, who is among members of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and his brother Paulo, 28, (R) laugh at Arouche Square in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, November 20, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

A swimmer disguised as Superman dives into the lake during the 78th “Coupe de Noel” (Christmas cup) swimming race in the Lake Geneva, on December 18, 2016 in Geneva. More than 1800 participants took part in the event, a 12-meter-long swimming off the Geneva's bank in the 7 degrees Celsius cold water. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)