Speakers' Corner topics are divided by interest and known as "classes". An area was set up in Bangkok in the 1930s, and quickly became known as Hyde Park, to enable freedom of speech and the airing of political views in Thailand. The area was shut down after student rioting and the lethal intervention of the army and it is not discussed openly today. In 1955, Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram had visited London as part of an international tour. He became impressed with the 'Speakers' Corner' in Hyde Park. Upon his return to Thailand a 'Hyde Park' space for free speech and assembly was
Speakers' Corner and the Built Environment, the area will benefit from a £500,000 grant to re-landscape the area around Splash Point and see a revival of the Speakers' Corner. Speakers' corner comprises a dais accessible by steps and a ramp providing a platform from which speakers address the crowd or passers by. It is due for completion by October 2010. Leeds is known to have its own Speakers' Corner, at Victoria Gardens on the Headrow, in front of the Leeds City Art Gallery, Central Library and Henry Moore Sculpture Centre building. It is a pivotal point in Leeds for justice and anti-war