Like the Great Exhibition and the Festival of Britain before it, the Dome is intended to be a celebration of the accomplishments of human beings in the past 2000 years. Its canopy is supposed to house examples of the latest technology and machines, proof of mankind's recent explorations and discoveries, displays of cultural greatness, and symbols of national identity. Much like the 1850 and 1951 exhibitions, it is meant to excite, impress, and inspire. The Dome has apparently failed to do this, and according to Paul Barker, should follow the example of the Festival of Britain and close down. They've harked back happily to that blaze of light and new architecture in a dreary, austerity-ridden London.
Festivals are for summertime, especially in a climate as unreliable as Britain's.
Here one opinion states that the Dome should learn from its historical precedents and be a limited-time event. Possibly it is not the quality of its exhibits but its imposition as a semi-permanent structure that has made the Dome such a disaster. On the other hand, the exhibitions of the past had problems of their own. The wind would blow it all away. Hail would beat it down.