(CNN) UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced plans to hold a nationwide festival in 2022 to celebrate Britain's scheduled departure from the European Union next year, but it was quickly mocked on social media. A statement issued by the ruling Conservative Party said the event would be called "The Festival" and would echo the 1851 Great Exhibition that celebrated the achievements of Victorian Britain as well as the 1951 Festival of Britain, held shortly after the devastation and hardship of World War II. Crowds queue at London's South Bank in 1951 to enter the Festival of Britain for the opening ceremony. "Almost 70 years ago the Festival of Britain stood as a symbol of change. Britain once again stands on the cusp of a new future as an outward facing global trading nation," May said in a statement. "We want to capture that spirit for a new generation, celebrate our nation's diversity and talent and mark this moment of national renewal with a once-in-a-generation celebration." The statement said the government would provide $156 million to "plan the event which is expected to generate billions of pounds for the UK economy." Read More<doc-sep>It’s fair to say that Theresa May’s announcement that the government is proposing to hold a Festival of Brexit Britain in 2022 hasn’t been universally well received. At the weekend the prime minister said £120m would be spent on hosting the event, which is aimed at marking what May described as a “moment of national renewal”. She said: “Almost 70 years ago the Festival of Britain stood as a symbol of change. Britain once again stands on the cusp of a new future as an outward-facing global trading nation. And, just as millions of Britons celebrated their nation’s great achievements in 1951, we want to showcase what makes our country great today.” Social media users almost immediately leapt on the announcement, demonstrating the scale of the task ahead if the event is truly to reunite the nation. Richard Littler, whose Scarfolk website is a treasure trove of satirical fake public information posters, has created a poster for May’s event, based on the 1951 Festival of Britain original. It captured much of the spirt of the social media response. The Festival of Brexit Britain. My poster based on the 1951 original. pic.twitter.com/APZwCM5JBc — Richard Littler (@richard_littler) September 30, 2018 People were not short of ideas what some of the key attractions could look like: Taster of the state-of-the-art entertainment on offer at Mrs May's fun-packed Festival of #Brexit Britain. Other rides - and power - unavailable due to cutbacks. pic.twitter.com/g2lKDzUOd5 — Paul Carnahan (@pacarnahan) September 30, 2018 Inevitably comparisons were made with Banksy’s Dismaland theme park: The Tories' Festival of Brexit Britain sounds like a great idea.😋 Here's a sneak preview. #festivalofbrexitbritain #DisMayLand pic.twitter.com/xZsM4pTVD8 — El Christo (@ElCorbynista) September 30, 2018 Others recalled the annual news staple of Winter Wonderland attractions that turn out to be anything but wonderful: The Festival Of Brexit... It’ll be like one of those winter wonderland fiascos, where the most interesting thing is a goat with antlers stapled to its head, or watching the parking attendants fighting each other in the quagmire car park. £25 per head, and no Santa. — Alistair Kerr (@akpimages) October 1, 2018 Steve Bullock, who co-hosts Brexit podcast CakeWatch, produced a long list of possible activities that could be planned for the event, including games of pin the blame on a remainer, workshops on cooking chlorinated chicken and buying unregulated medicine on eBay, and the presence of an innovative jam pagoda. Exclusive: initial planning for PM’s Brexit Britain Festival leaked: -deport-a-foreigner tombola -pin the blame on a remainer -experts in stocks -othering tent -hate pavilion -raffle with prizes including a months supply of insulin, basic food, or an exit visa -Morris dancing 1/ — Steve Bullock (@GuitarMoog) September 30, 2018 And in the spirit of a more environmentally caring era, there was an excellent suggestion that the venue for the event could be recycled. There is no better location for the Brexit Festival than the abandoned Mr. Blobby theme park. pic.twitter.com/ehwGyiWWS5 — Simon Renshaw (@SiRenshaw) September 30, 2018 Labour MP David Lammy described the entire proposal as “historically illiterate”. He said: “The Labour government’s 1951 Festival of Britain marked a new era of growth and international cooperation. The opposite of where this Tory government is taking us.” The proposed date for the festival, 2022, is also the date of the next general election due to be held under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. Some imagined that the queues were already building up in the post-apocalyptic post-Brexit Britain. Revellers set out early for Theresa May's 'Festival of #Brexit Britain'. pic.twitter.com/33zj1cWDEY — Paul Carnahan (@pacarnahan) September 30, 2018 And some had interesting ideas about the kind of people who might attend. Guests are already starting to arrive for Theresa May’s Festival of Brexit pic.twitter.com/rQEBFuvQ1k — Tim Walker (@ThatTimWalker) September 30, 2018 The bleaker humour revolved around the fact that money had been found to hold this festival during an era of austerity-based cuts to the arts. Every arts producer I know is saying "lol I'd never work on a Festival of Brexit Britain" as though we're not pretending arts funding won't run out by 2020 and we'll take any job we can get — Laura Brown (@MsLaura_Brown) September 30, 2018 While Mogwai guitarist, Stuart Braithwaite, has already definitively ruled out the Scottish band making an appearance. Mogwai will not be playing at The Festival of Brexit — stuart braithwaite (@plasmatron) September 30, 2018 There was speculation about how the event itself might climax. And the creator behind the @Coldwar_Steve account offered their services as creative director. Dear @theresa_may. I hear that you are looking for a creative director for the Festival of Brexit? — McFadden's Cold War (@Coldwar_Steve) September 30, 2018 But given the way that he has recently been using newspaper and television interviews to put himself in the frame to replace Theresa May, there was only ever going to be one choice of an official mascot piñata for the event:<doc-sep>London-based designer Richard Littler has created a satirical poster for the Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, based on the cover of the original guide for the 1951 Festival of Britain. The spoof poster follows the announcement by British prime minister Theresa May of a Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which will take place in 2022 after the UK has left the European Union. The satirical poster for the event, dubbed the Festival of Brexit Britain by Littler, reimagines the profile of the nation's symbolic figurehead Britannia shooting herself in the head. Britannia is framed by a stylised compass illustration with accents of red and blue on white and ochre points. Poster based on 1951 Festival of Britain graphic The design is inspired by graphics from the original "festival star" poster by Abram Games – one of Britain's most-recognised 20th-century graphic designers – for the 1951 Festival of Britain, a national event held in London that aimed to support the nation's arts and crafts trade. The Festival of Brexit Britain. My poster based on the 1951 original. pic.twitter.com/APZwCM5JBc — Richard Littler (@richard_littler) September 30, 2018 The design appeared on the festival's guide, with the price stated as 2/6 (two shillings and six pence). The bottom of Littler's poster reads, "guide price £120 million". The Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be backed by £120 million of government investment and is intended to showcase "the UK’s unique strengths in creativity and innovation." Festival "ripe for satire" "Given that Theresa May announced her intention for a 'Festival of Brexit Britain', it seemed ripe for satire," Littler told Dezeen. The proposal for the festival, which was unveiled at the Conservative's annual party conference in Birmingham on 30 September 2018, was described by May as a "nationwide festival in celebration of the creativity and innovation of the United Kingdom". Related story Me & EU book includes over 100 postcards for post-Brexit Britain "Just as millions of Britons celebrated their nation's great achievements in 1951, we want to showcase what makes our country great today," said May. But the proposal has been met with criticism from the general public with many news outlets dubbing it a Brexit festival. "Overwhelming response" unexpected Littler made the poster using graphics software Inkscape after hearing May's announcement. "I have to admit that, when I tweeted it early on Sunday morning, I hadn't expected the overwhelming response. It obviously speaks to a lot of people who have become disenfranchised with how Brexit is shaping up and are frustrated with the hubris, ineffectuality, and profound lack of progress," said Littler. "That it was shared so widely is also a testament to the effectiveness and aesthetic precision of Abram Games who, incidentally, was the son of immigrants," he continued. Many British designers have explored the consequences of Brexit, including Nathan Smith and Sam T Smith's book filled with postcards made by UK creatives. Last year, the British government announced plans to change the colour of British passports from burgundy to dark blue following Brexit.<doc-sep>
PM Theresa May’s plan to host a post-Brexit ‘Britain’ festival has been gaining traction online since it was announced Saturday. Unfortunately for the Tories, most of the reaction has been that of savage mockery. Read more Unveiling the plan ahead of the Conservative’s annual party conference in Birmingham, May said the Festival of Great Britain and Northern Ireland would work towards strengthening “our precious union,” with a nationwide program of events to take place in 2022, once the full effects of the UK crashing out of the EU begin to be felt. The festival will echo that of the Victorian era, the Great Exhibition of 1851, and will take place 70 years after the 1951 Festival of Britain which was organized by the post-war Labour government. “Just as millions of Britons celebrated their nation’s great achievements in 1951, we want to showcase what makes our country great today,” May said upon the announcement. Costing the taxpayer £120 million (US$156 million), it will have an Olympic Games-style “delivery body” and it is hoped it will bring billions of pounds worth of investment into the country. However, not all have reacted with enthusiasm for the plan, with Labour MP David Lammy calling the idea “historically illiterate.” “The Labour government’s 1951 Festival of Britain marked a new era of growth and international cooperation. The opposite of where this Tory government is taking us,” Remainer Lammy said on Twitter. Theresa May's £120 million "Festival of Brexit Britain" is historically illiterate.The Labour government's 1951 Festival of Britain marked a new era of growth and international cooperation. The opposite of where this Tory government is taking us.https://t.co/ixstZFCbjy — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) September 30, 2018 Others were more lighthearted with their mockery, posting memes, movie stills, and gifs of what a Tory-run festival post-Brexit would look like. Festival of Brexit Britain... pic.twitter.com/Fg4Fqycudg — Spanish Tony (@joeyzas) September 30, 2018 The main stage pic.twitter.com/yDCKrzZ7a9 — Simon Bruni (@SimonBruni) September 30, 2018 BREAKING: Nation's satirists express profound gratitude for Theresa May's "Festival Of Brexit" plan. pic.twitter.com/unGPrbtsoD — Robert Hutton (@RobDotHutton) September 30, 2018 The Festival of Brexit Britain. My poster based on the 1951 original. pic.twitter.com/APZwCM5JBc — Richard Littler (@richard_littler) September 30, 2018 Not all were on board with the mockery, however, with one account targeting the real enemy: “sneering, entitled millennials” with no respect for their “heritage.” This #festivalofbrexitbritain hashtag is full of sneering, entitled millennials. You are lucky to be British. You are fortunate that you live in the best country in the world. You are comfortable, safe, warm and affluent. Have some respect for your heritage. — JesoCheese (@JesoCheese) September 30, 2018 Like this story? Share it with a friend!