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”)

Festival goers having fun at the Balaton Sound music festival in Zamardi next to the Lake of Balaton, 110 km (68 miles) west of Budapest, July 8, 2017. (Photo by Sandor Csudai)

A driver on the Horseshoe Pass in North Wales wiping the snow from the windscreen of his car during a heavy snow storm, 18th January 1937. (Photo by Norman Smith)

People protest for greater action against climate change during the People's Climate March on September 21, 2014 in New York City. The march, which calls for drastic political and economic changes to slow global warming, has been organized by a coalition of unions, activists, politicians and scientists. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Tourists kissing front of Malaysia's landmark Petronas Twin Towers with lights on before turned off to mark Earth Hour 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 19 March 2016. Earth Hour takes place worldwide at 8.30 p.m. local time and is a global call to turn off lights for 60 minutes to raise awareness of the danger of global climatic change (Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA)

Participants of the “Still Standing for Culture” action of the cultural sector rally in Les Marolles neighborhood of Brussels, Belgium, 13 March 2021. Workers of the cultural sector along with second-hand dealers of the Jeu de Balle place gathered in Les Marolles to denounce the lack of financial support and call for solutions to the impact of the coronavirus crisis on culture professionals and the sector as a whole one year after the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns started. (Photo by Stephanie Lecocq/EPA/EFE)

Activists from the animal rights group PETA, wearing bikinis and crocodile masks, stand outside a store of the French fashion label Hermes in Melbourne on March 16, 2021, to protest against their use of crocodile skins and the recent purchases by Hermes and LVMH of crocodile farms in Australia's Northern Territory. (Photo by William West/AFP Photo)

A man feeds langur monkeys during a lockdown amid the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic in Pushkar on April 28, 2021. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/AFP Photo)