The Art of the Spectacle: 3 Times Public Entertainment Changed the Rules

February 03, 2026

Our societies have been cycling between periods of prioritizing for function or form. While history may not repeat, it rhymes, and what survives that which strikes a balance between the two. While the decades of the recent past has been about designing public spaces focused more towards efficiency, an imminent shift shift is happening right in front of our eyes.

Architects and urban planners are rediscovering that physical spaces need to offer something more than just utility; they need to offer connection. Here are three examples of "Rare Entertainment" that transformed ordinary places into destination, purely through the power of play.

The Musical Swings (Montreal, Canada)

In the Quartier des Spectacles, a series of 21 illuminated swings were installed. But these weren't just playground equipment; each swings were programmed to trigger a musical note. When strangers swung in unison, the melody became richer and complex.

The Result: People who were normally unlikely to speak with each other were suddenly collaborating to "compose" music! The installation did not just fill space; it built a community.

The Piano Stairs (Stockholm, Sweden)

In a classic experiment by Volkswagen's "Funny Theory", they transformed a subway staircase into a working piano such that each step played a note. The goal was to encourage people to take the stairs instead of the escalator next to it.

The Result: Nearly 66% more people started to use the stairs.

This proved a fundamental truth of human psychology: Fun change behaviour. If the choices that are "healthy" or "desired" are inherently made entertaining, people will flock to it.

Please Feed the Lions (London, UK)

Trafalgar Square is best known for its solemn bronze lions, guardians of a very weighty past. During the London Design Festival, artist Es Devlin disrupted that seriousness by introducing a fifth lion: a bold, fluorescent red figure that responded to the public. Visitors could feed it words, which were transformed into AI-generated poetry and projected onto Nelson’s Column.

The Result: What is usually a static monument became a living exchange. Instead of simply observing history, visitors actively shaped it, turning the square into a collective moment of play, authorship and dialogue.

The Common Thread? Participation.

None of these examples involved a passive audience watching a show. They all required the public to do something. To swing, to step and to type. When we invite the public to participate, we stop treating them like "traffic" or "footfall"; we start treating them like guests; respected, engaged, Atithi Devo Bhava.