The Speakers' corner of Hyde Park

Photo courtesy of London's Hyde Park

Since 1872, the Speakers' Corner has been a symbol of free speech. The Speakers' Corner Trust says it was "born out of the struggle for civil liberties in Victorian Britain," and calls its creation "a significant milestone" in the development of British democracy. Famous orators have included George Orwell, Karl Marx and Marcus Garvey.

The Trust supports the creation of Speakers' Corners in other UK cities including Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, and Bristol, and is working to create mobile ones.

Other countries, including Canada (Victoria, Calgary, Toronto), have had Speakers' corners.

In 2000, Hong Lim Park in Singapore became the designated location of a Speakers' Corner where Singaporeans may use any of their four official languages to peaceably orate on subjects excluding religion, providing that they do not use obscenities or incite violence or racial hatred.

The traditional ideal of free speech goes back at least to Socrates.