Ally Pally is iconic home of darts with bizarre laws including ban on ‘carpet shaking’ and venue older than football
ALLY PALLY is now the iconic home of the darts but it has played host to Madonna and the Rolling Stones and is known as the birthplace of TV.
It opened in 1873 which means it predates most professional sports in the UK – even the EFL which was founded in 1888.
The Alexandra Palace is named after Princess Alexandra of Denmark, wife of Queen Victoria‘s son, who became King Edward VII.
It also has a number of unusual byelaws in place – “shaking or beating any carpet” is forbidden, as is riding “any horse above the rate of eight miles per hour” and grazing bulls at the Palace.
Around 60,000 visitors attended its opening and it has since played host to several iconic events, including the first official women’s club football match in the England.
Pigeon racing and horse racing have also taken place on the site, while the likes of W. G. Grace, Sir Jack Hobbs and Sir Don Bradman all played cricket at the venue.
Outside of sport the Palace’s Theatre held the first same-sex marriage in England in March 2014, and hosted the BRIT Awards between 1993-95.
It is still a popular location for gigs with the Bob Dylan, Madonna and the Rolling Stones amongst the famous artists to have rocked the Palace.
The Suffragettes also held meetings in the Theatre between 1908 and 1909.
But it is perhaps most famous for being the birthplace of television.
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In 1935 the BBC leased the eastern part of the building to make the first-ever TV transmissions, which were famously introduced by the words: “This is direct television from Alexandra Palace…”
Ally Pally remained the major production centre for BBC television until the 1950s, before being used exclusively for news broadcasts.
In 1966 the first colour television signals were transmitted from the Palace.
Three years prior to that the first darts event was held at the venue – The News of the World Championship.
It was not until 2008 when Ally Pally would host the darts again, and in the proceeding 16 years it has become the iconic home of the World Darts Championship.
Around 3,500 fancy-dressed darts enthusiasts pack the halls of Ally Pally every day for 16 days of arrow action, but there is talk of the event moving.
PDC founder Barry Hearn revealed 90,000 tickets for the Worlds sold out in 15 minutes, with his team suggesting there was demand for 300,000 tickets.
He has hinted at moving to a bigger venue as he declared: “I have to grow all the time. If you ever get complacent you go backwards.”