A live entertainment venue, two hotels and a ‘curated mix’ of bars
and restaurants will open at Olympia this summer as part of the area’s £1.3bn
transformation.
The area in Kensington, west
London, which has housed exhibition halls for 140 years, is being ‘redefined as
a cultural destination’ with new public spaces and venues increasing the appeal
for event organisers and visitors.
The bars and restaurants, including Mexican-inspired Bar Arriba,
Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar Wolves of Tokyo and a multi-concept food
hall called Arbour will open in the Canopy area of the redeveloped exhibition
halls on 15 June.
British Airways Arc, a 3,800-capacity live music and entertainment
venue operated by AEG Presents, will open on 16 June with Mercury-nominated
Self Esteem headlining the first two nights, while two hotels – the 204-bedroom
Hyatt Regency London Olympia and the 146-bedroom citizen London Olympia will
follow in July.
The new venues follow the opening of Pillar Hall, a Grade-II
listed building which is home to all-day restaurant Idalia, speakeasy bar
Pepperbird and Upstairs at Pillar Hall, a 500+ capacity live music and events
venue that will open this autumn.
Further developments in the area
include the British Airways Theatre and 2.5 acres of outside public spaces. The
1,575-capacity venue will be operated by London-based Trafalgar Entertainment
and Broadway’s The Shubert Organization. It will be London’s largest permanent new
theatre in 50 years when it opens in 2027.
Michael Volkert, CEO of Olympia Estates which will
operate the transformed destination, said: “This series of incredible
summer openings marks the beginning of an exciting chapter for Olympia,
highlighting its evolution into a dynamic new destination where our guests will
be able to experience the best of London’s culture, entertainment, and
hospitality.”
Once fully operational, developers
say Olympia will inject more than £600 million into the UK economy each year,
directly generating 7,000 jobs and attracting 3.5 million visitors to its new
hotels, events and performance venues, with a projected total annual footfall
of 10 million.
Events taking place at Olympia this summer include the London Wine Fair, Hyper Japan and London Premier Padel P1.
