South Bank hopes raised

The appointment of the former chief executive of the Sydney Opera House, Michael Lynch, 51, to take over the running of London’s quaking South Bank Centre is a brilliant move, even for a glutton for punishment. However, Lynch has all the skills to pull it off in this smouldering hot seat. Steering through the three-year development plan for the 27-acre site will be a challenge. Of the Millennium Dome, Lynch was polite, suggesting that Australia was the wiser in spending the money on one big party. There will be no more white elephants at South Bank.