Serota said: “Opening a building like this is not just about the here and now, it is primarily about the future. The decision to allow schoolchildren in first was carefully considered. “The new Tate Modern is an instrument that will allow us to present a changing perspective on the world, offer a rich variety of experiences to visitors and give opportunities to artists to explore new ways of making and showing their work,” Serota said. The total cost of the development has moved upwards from £215m to £260m to bring it in line with 2016 prices. Tate’s director, Sir Nicholas Serota, said: “There will be old friends and new friends – Pablo Picasso, Joseph Beuys and Mark Rothko will be joined by artists introduced to the public by Tate Modern in recent years, including Saloua Raouda Choucair, Meschac Gaba, Daidō Moriyama and Cildo Meireles.” In terms of art, there will be the familiar and the unexpected. The new Tate Modern will get a complete rehang of the permanent collection, with far more space for performance and interactive art. When it became clear that was never going to happen, Tate opened up the tanks space, based in underground former oil tanks, for 2012 only. It is a vast project, one which was originally meant to be completed in time for the London 2012 Olympics. The Turbine Hall featuring Richard Tuttle’s 2014 installation I Don’t Know.

Tate modern tanks diagram