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”)

A cadet lies on the grass after collapsing during a promotion ceremony at a police school in Bogota December 7, 2012. (Photo by John Vizcaino/Reuters)

Cuban girls dressed as nurses and a lizard wait for their turn to dance during a visit by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington in Havana July 13, 2015. The choir made its first appearance on July 12, 2015 in Cuba as part of a tour that will include a dozen concerts in the context of the restoration of relations between the island and the United States. (Photo by Enrique de la Osa/Reuters)

A man takes a selfie in front of a fire from oil that has been set ablaze in the Qayyarah area, some 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Mosul, on October 19, 2016, during an operation by Iraqi forces against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists to retake the main hub city. In the biggest Iraqi military operation in years, forces have retaken dozens of villages, mostly south and east of Mosul, and are planning multiple assaults for October 20. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/AFP Photo)

Newly-wed Syrian couple Nada Merhi, 18, and Hassan Youssef, 27, have their wedding pictures taken in front of a heavily damaged building in the war ravaged city of Homs on February 5, 2016. A Syrian photographer thought of using the destruction of Homs to take pictures of newly wed couples to show that life is stronger than death. (Photo by Joseph Eid/AFP Photo)

A girl types on a computer as she demonstrates the interior of the new Volvo S90 during the Auto China 2016 auto show in Beijing April 25, 2016. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates after scoring his side's sixth goal during the Champions League round of 16 second leg, soccer match between Manchester City and Schalke 04 at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, March 12, 2019. (Photo by Dave Thompson/AP Photo)

A wounded servicemen of Ukrainian Military Forces looks on after the battle with Russian troops and Russia-backed separatists in Lugansk region on March 8, 2022. The number of refugees flooding across Ukraine's borders to escape towns devastated by shelling and air strikes passed two million, in Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II, according to the United Nations. (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov/AFP Photo)