London is a hotbed for fantastic venues for live music – everything from the sweaty back room at the Dublin Castle in Camden to the pomp and circumstance of my favourite, the Royal Albert Hall, and the immense scale of the O2 in Greenwich.
However, for as long as I’ve been going to gigs in London (and that’s quite a bit over the last 15 years), I’ve often felt it was missing a venue. London has lots of theatres with a sub-3000 capacity – think the Palladium, Lyceum and such – and then some slightly larger halls, such as the Hammersmith Apollo and Royal Albert Hall that push 4000 to 6000 people in one room.
Above that, and you’re getting into arena territory with the O2 and Wembley Arena. It’s the gap between the Palladium and the Albert Hall that’s difficult to fill.
That’s where the new British Airways Arc comes in. The first venue of its kind to be built in London for the best part of a decade, with a sweet-spot 3,800 capacity situated at the Olympia in west London, that’s sitting on a site with more musical heritage than people realise. The likes of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and the Cure all played in Olympia’s West Hall (where the Arc is situated atop), and in more recent years, it’s played host to Richard Ashcroft and Alicia Keys, amongst the sea of trade shows that usually occupy the venue.
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It’s part of a hefty £1.3 billion renovation to the Olympia site, where I’m told that a concert venue of some form was central to the plans, reviving Olympia’s musical heritage in a thoroughly modern manner. This is all part of an idea to make the exhibition hall into more of a destination – Birmingham has tried it with the NEC complex, adding the Resorts World outlet shopping centre and the associated BP Pulse arena a decade or so ago, but it feels a bit soulless considering it’s mostly shut before doors open for a show at the arena.
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On the other hand, the Olympia already has several venues open for business, and with a good variety, too. Everything from coffee and fried chicken to Japanese cuisine and beyond, with Wolves of Tokyo, a rooftop Japanese restaurant and bar from the Incipio Group, as the marquee opening. The space already feels alive with a clean and modern feel, and is worth checking out on its own. I recommend arriving an hour or so before doors to make the most of it.
What’s on
The opening season AEG is going for reflects the ambition to revive Olympia’s musical fortunes. There’s an excellent spread of artists for the venue’s opening season – Self Esteem has opened up this week, with the likes of McFly, Zac Brown Band and The Black Keys to follow. Van Morrison is down for a five-night residency in a more intimate setting, while there’s also a jazz festival partnership featuring Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves towards the back end of 2026. AEG’s target is 200 events a year, meaning this could be the hustling and bustling venue to see your favourite artist in a new and different setting.
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AEG has said the venue is built for multi-night runs and that the idea of artists having residencies is arguably the whole point of the venue. It’s designed to attract arena sellers to a smaller space, potentially encouraging a different kind of show with a better atmosphere. Van Morrison is a prime example, as is the rarely seen Zac Brown Band – a country artist not seen at a standalone UK show in the best part of a decade, the last of which was at Wembley Arena, outside of sporadic country festival appearances at the O2. If they’re selling out the Arc in the next week or so, that’s an indication of things to come.
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The best seats in the house
Once inside, you wouldn’t know it’s a nearly 4,000-capacity venue. It doesn’t feel particularly big. The entire bowl is wide and deep, rather than narrow and high, feeling closer to the Roundhouse in Camden than a traditional theatre. The balcony is quite modest in scale, stretching back for only a handful of rows, and there isn’t necessarily a bad seat in the house – I sat in a good few to check! There’s a gentle rake, too, and good legroom between rows. If you’re at the extreme side at the top, though, in seats 85 to 91 or so, just beware that they sit close enough to the stage that a large speaker may affect your view a bit. Of course, as time goes on, we’re going to see photos from folks inside with specific seat and row numbers, but just a small tip for you.
If you’re happy to spend a bit more and want to sit in the balcony, then the Arc has specific ‘Front Row’ seating – a lowered section at the front of the balcony with clean sightlines and no one in front of you.
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For an even plusher option, there’s the British Airways Wing, which is genuinely one of my favourite parts of the venue. It features a private bar serving made-to-order cocktails with its own lounge area that sits at the literal side of the stage – like the backstage viewing area you see well-to-do people using at Glastonbury.
Once the show’s about to begin, you get your own little pen of even plusher seats that look more like ones you’ve found in a nice cinema than a concert venue. It’s available via the Premium Seating option through AXS when buying tickets for certain shows — allocations are likely to be very limited, so you’ll need to move quickly when a show goes on sale.
Downstairs, the floor is standing, but can be changed to seated arrangements for certain shows. It’s a big, wide and open space, complete with ample opportunity to buy things, with a large bar and merchandise stand right as you go in the main auditorium door. Moving down the side is a self-serve bar if you don’t want to deal with large queues with contactless payment terminals to make it as easy as possible to get that pre-show pint down your neck.
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Comfort and accessibility
One thing I wasn’t expecting was how much standing room there is outside of the main bowl, and that the bar areas and such are slightly raised up by a couple of steps against the main room. There are lots of spaces to lean with your drink, a few steps away from the back of the main standing bowl, and you get a surprisingly good sightline, especially with the stage being 1.7 metres high – that’s higher than a lot of other venues. If you still want a good view without the hassle of being in a mosh pit, the rear standing area could be the play.
The venue has 37 accessible spaces on the ground floor at the side of the room, too, by the self-service bar, and you get good views in your own designated section, rather than having to deal with the problem of potentially being stuck behind a pillar in other venues.
Admittedly, it’s a small thing, but the fact that the entire venue is air-conditioned makes a difference, especially with it opening at the height of summer. At this time of year, older halls can be very hot and stuffy in the summer months, especially as places in this country are mostly designed to keep heat in, rather than get rid of it. It’s a small thing that will make a noticeable difference on a hot night.
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If you’re not already a member, it’s worth signing up to the BA Club – British Airways’ free membership scheme. As well as earning points on flight bookings, holidays and other things, you can also collect Avios if you spend at selected bars and restaurants across the new Olympia complex. From 22nd June, you can earn 10 Avios per £1 spent, which seems like a no-brainer if you’re saving up points for a reward flight and want to maximise your earnings. Likewise, you also get access to your own specific presale for when artists go on sale at the Arc, giving you another route to book tickets to a show.
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Getting there
One last tip is on public transport. To navigate to the Arc, you’re genuinely best using public transport. On-street parking directly outside is restricted to permit holders until 10pm, ruling out most gig-goers. You’ve otherwise got a couple of options, with the Kensington Olympia station being served on the Mildmay Overground line, a branch of the District line on certain days and weekends, and Southern Rail’s National Rail services. Otherwise, it’s a short walk from Barons Court station on the Piccadilly line, which is useful if you’re coming from central London or connecting from Heathrow, for instance.
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Overall, I think the British Airways Arc is a genuinely worthwhile addition to London’s entertainment landscape with a modern and considered feel that’s unlike a lot of the other venues we’ve seen in London over the years. It’s a little early to tell whether folks will seek it out for the wide, open room itself, for the pre-gig dining options, or simply because their favourite artist happens to book it. However, on the evidence of what’s here already, the foundations are solid, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with it in the future.
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