The historic venue is celebrating a milestone anniversary with a night of live music
The Liverpool Olympia is set to celebrate its 120th birthday with a night of live music. Rock band Embrace will headline the event alongside a lineup of special guests.
The event on Saturday, April 26, commemorates more than a century of live performances at the independent venue. Embrace are the multi-platinum selling musicians behind hits like Gravity and All You Good Good People, bagging three number one albums and six top 10 single spots during their career.
Joining them are Britpop stars The Bluetones, who first came to prominence in 1995 when their debut release ‘Are You Blue or Are You Blind’ broke into the Top 40. The single proved to be the launching pad for a run that saw 14 hit singles and six albums.
Liverpool’s The Real People, pioneers of the Britpop movement and renowned for mentoring Oasis in their early days, will also play the venue for the first time. Rounding off the line-up are rock band Rats.
Liverpool Olympia managing director Chris Zorba said: “I’m proud to take this iconic venue into its 120th year. The Olympia has been a cornerstone of Liverpool’s entertainment history since 1905, hosting Harry Houdini, The Beatles and Little Richard to name just a few.
“We’ll celebrate the year from 24 April with an eclectic programme of gigs, comedy and sporting events. We also have Liverpool’s Shack reforming for a sold-out gig on 25 April, followed by the likes of the Liverpool Gospel Music Festival, Supergrass, Michael Kiwanuka, Father John Misty and Future Islands before the summer alone.”
The 120th anniversary event takes place on Saturday, April 26, from 5:30pm. You can purchase tickets here.
Liverpool Olympia was designed by Frank Matcham for Moss Empires, opening its doors in April 1905 as a purpose-built indoor circus and variety theatre.
Its huge auditorium, with stalls and three levels of balconies, could accommodate almost 4,000 people. Meanwhile animals were housed in a large basement area – dubbed the ‘elephant pit’, and aquatic extravaganzas staged in a vast tank below the floor which held up to 80,000 gallons of water.
In 1975, the Olympia was awarded Grade II* listed status by English Heritage, now Historic England, which described the building as “a well-preserved example of the work of the foremost Edwardian theatre architect.”
Over its long history, the venue has welcomed huge stars from theatre, music and comedy including the Beatles, Little Richard and legendary escapologist Harry Houdini.
In 1990, the current owners purchased the neighbouring Grafton Rooms and while operating this as a nightclub, they began to refurbish the Olympia to bring it back to life after several years of closure.
The venue eventually reopened in February 2000, and over the last 25 years it has become a firm favourite on the local music scene. In recent years the Olympia has also played host to big names like New Order, Nick Cave, Robert Plant, Paul Weller and Merseyside’s Elvis Costello, The Zutons and Jamie Webster.
