Eden Project - History

History

The clay pit that houses the structures was in use for over 160 years. In 1981, the pit was used by the BBC as the planet surface of Magrathea in the 1981 TV series of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. By the mid 1990s the pit was all but exhausted.

The initial idea for the project dates back to 1996, with construction beginning in 1998. The work was hampered by torrential rain in the first few months of the project, and parts of the pit flooded as it sits 15m below the water table.

The first part of the Eden Project, the visitor centre, opened to the public in May 2000. The first plants began arriving in September of that year, and the full site opened on 17 March 2001.

The Project hosted the "Africa Calling" concert of the Live 8 concert series on 2 July 2005. It was also used as a filming location for the 2002 James Bond film, Die Another Day (starring Pierce Brosnan). It also provided some plants for the British Museum's Africa garden.

In 2005, the Project launched "A Time of Gifts" for the winter months, November to February. This features an ice rink covering the lake, with a small café/bar attached, as well as a Christmas market. Cornish choirs regularly perform in the biomes.

On 6 December 2007, the Eden Project invited people all over Cornwall to try to break the world record for the biggest ever pub quiz as part of its campaign to bring £50 million of lottery funds to Cornwall.

In December 2007, the project failed in its bid for £50 million of funding, after the Big Lottery Fund popular vote, when it received just 12.07% of the votes, the lowest for the four projects being considered. Eden wanted the money for Edge, a proposed desert biome..

In December 2009, much of the project, including both greenhouses, became available to navigate through Google Street View.