Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated within the Thames Gateway on the north side of the Thames estuary 40 miles (64 km) east of central London. It is bordered to the north by Rochford and to the west by Castle Point.
     Originally the south end of the village of Prittlewell, Southend became a seaside resort during the Georgian era. Proximity to London and access by train meant the economy has been based on tourism ever since. Southend Pier is the world's longest pleasure pier at 1.34 miles (2158m). It has suffered fires and ship collisions, most recently in October 2005, but the basic pier structure has been repaired each time. There has been significant loss of pier-head facilities since the major fire in 1976.
     With the decline of seaside resorts, from the 1960s much of the centre was developed for commerce and many of the original features were destroyed through redevelopment or neglect. H.M. Revenue & Customs (HMRC), (formerly HM Customs and Excise), are major employers, and the central offices for the collection of VAT are there. Southend opened the University of Essex, Southend to boost the economy.
     There are nine railway stations on two lines within the borough connecting it to London.
     The town is known for its seafront. Since 1986, a diesel-hydraulic railway has run the length of the pier, replacing the electric service which opened in 1890. The pier has been beset by fires; a fire in 1995 destroyed the bowling alley at the start of the pier and a another fire in October 2005 damaged the far end of the pier. The pier was also run through by a boat in 1984.
     The Kursaal was one of the earliest theme parks, built at the start of the 20th century. It closed in the 1970s and much of the land was developed as housing. The entrance hall, a listed building, is a bowling alley arcade operated by Megabowl and casino. An amusement park, formerly known as Peter Pan's Playground, straddles the pier entrance. Peter Pan's Playground was eventually renamed Adventure Island as its size and popularity grew, and has since grown into a large amusement park with over 50 rides. The seafront also houses the "Sea-Life Adventure" aquarium, owned by the Miller family, who also own Adventure Island.
     The cliff gardens, which included Never Never Land and a Victorian bandstand were an attraction until slippage in 2003 made parts of the cliffs unstable, and the bandstand has been removed. The council wants to re-erect the bandstand but a location has to be found.
     A cliff lift links the base of the High Street with the new pier entrance. The older Southend Cliff Railway, a short funicular, is a few hundred metres away, closed because structural and mechanical work needs to be done in order to meet European Union legislation which classes it as a cable car.
     On the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, Southend hosts a farmers' market.
     [edit] Festival events Starting in 1986, An airshow, dubbed Festival of the Air in 2009, takes place each May. At the show - one of Europe's largest free airshows - aircraft including high-speed military jets and sports aerobatic displays fly over the sea, parallel with the seafront. The RAF Falcons parachute display team and RAF Red Arrows jet aerobatics team are regular visitors to the show.[12] Each August, Southend Carnival opens along the "Golden Mile" with the lighting of the Southend Illuminations.
     There are three theatres. The Cliffs Pavilion is a large building to host concerts and performances on ice. The most recent theatre is the New Empire Theatre. It is, unlike the other two, privately owned. It is used more by amateur groups. The theatre was converted from the ABC Cinema, which was originally a theatre built in 1896. The Edwardian Palace Theatre is a grade II building built in 1912. It shows plays from professional troupes and repertory groups, as well as comedy acts. The theatre has two circles and the steepest rake in Britain. Part of the theatre was a smaller venue called The Dixon Studio.
     The establishment of Junk Club By The Horrors Rhys Webb and Oliver Abbott (Von Blitz) aided by Ciaran O'Shea, in the basement of the Royal Hotel in 2002, created a 'Southend scene' featured in NME, Rolling Stone and Vogue.[13]. Bands associated with the scene included The Horrors, These New Puritans, The Violets, Errorplains and Neils Children. Junk terminated in 2006. The Experimental Circle Club, set up by Thomas Silverman and Junk's Ciaran O'Shea, operates in Southend and London. Chinnery's is a music venue that has featured Arctic Monkeys, Zebrahead and Lost Prophets.
     Southend is known for electronic music. The town has venues at the commercial and underground ends of the spectrum. The biggest underground music venue is the Royal Hotel which features house, techno, dubstep, breaks and electro. The Sunrooms champion all creative music.
     Bands that originate from Southend include; Procol Harum, The Horrors, The Kursaal Flyers, These New Puritans, Ipso Facto, Scroobius Pip, Zior, and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.