New London Theatre Slated To Open In 2025

The new five-story Olympia Theatre will host a 1,575-seat auditorium and is expected to open by the end of the year. Located in West London near West Kensington and Barons Court Tube stations, the theatre is part of a £1.3B development that includes a hotel, restaurants, office space, an expanded conference venue, a new school, and a 3,500-seat music venue.

A 35-year lease on the theatre has been awarded to Trafalgar Entertainment, owners of the Trafalgar Theatre in the West End, several regional UK theatres, and the Theatre Royal, Sydney. The group also owns Trafalgar Releasing, which provides live broadcasts of productions at The RSC, Glyndebourne, Met Opera, Royal Opera House and for various touring rock artists. 

Olympia Events

The new venue is part of a renewed investment in live entertainment in the UK capital, which includes Nico Burns' @sohoplace which opened in 2022 as the first new theatre to be built in the West End in 50 years, and recent major renovations of venues including the Trafalgar Theatre, the Playhouse Theatre, and the Piccadilly Theatre, which suffered a ceiling collapse during a production in 2019.

Haworth Tompkins

The redevelopment of the area around the expanded Olympia Exhibition Centre, now Olympia Events, which is host to the UK live entertainment industry trade show PLASA, will create an entertainment hub outside the West End. 

The theatre is being designed to host a wide range of performances, including musicals, large-scale theatrical productions, concerts, and immersive experiences.

Co-founder of Trafalgar Entertainment, Howard Panter, said: "Looking forward to a new golden age of theatre, Olympia presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity – it is quite simply one of the most exciting new theatres London has seen for many years and we're delighted to be playing our part as operator. Trafalgar Entertainment is determined to help the return of live entertainment across the UK: we know that audiences want passionately to return to the unique magic that is live theatre."

The project will be overseen by 2014 RIBA Stirling Prize-winning architects, Haworth Tompkins.