The Bicentenary has suggested a string of celebrations which took place in several cultural institutions in the UK, and especially in cultural museums and around them, throughout the year 2007. The paper aims at analysing the ideological and cultural grounds on which such celebrations were based, their connections with black British culture and with the present situation of post imperial Britain. It will include a power point presentation illustrating the visual aspects of several exhibitions in London, Liverpool, Bristol, etc., and a reference to a conference organized in Milano on the same theme in November 2007.