It felt apt for Self Esteem to be the opening act at the new British Airways ARC venue in the rooftop of the redeveloped Kensington Olympia. Not just because she marvels at the self-serve bar – which is admittedly great – but because she delivers the kind of show which pushes any space to its limits. A show show, one that melds theatricality, mixed-media, dance, spoken-word and music - and in this spanking new space looks and sounds sensational.
It is a highly impressive way to kick off a new era for Olympia, a landmark which is 140 years old, and alongside its use as an exhibition space, also has serious music history behind it, with Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, the real London ground-breakers, playing at previous venues on the site. It’s new look is quite something. The approach feels spectacular as you go up an escalator three storey’s high and come to a lovely promenade flanked by restaurants - there are 8 here - before an 83-metre long LED video canvas showing art on the ceiling guides you to the venue itself. There are bars too, and three al fresco terraces overlooking the city. It all feels luxe and cool and of course this is no accident.
Michael Volkert, CEO of Olympia tells the Standard that, “I've only been a part of the team for the last 6 months, but its been in development for 6 years, and to see the excitement on the team's face and then see the reaction of people as they come onto the estate and look at all the beautiful architecture and start participating in the environment, it's electric.”
This is all part of a £1.3 billion transformation, and the idea is that this is not simply a venue, but one of the capital’s most exciting new places to eat, meet, discover and stay. Wonderfully, a new theatre will be opening here alongside the ARC.
“What I think is really unique about Olympia is it's a mixed-use estate and all the various components work together really well,” says Volkert, “We have two big ones. The exhibition business, historically what we're known for - we had London Tech Week here recently, with 30,000 visitors. Then we have half a million square feet of office space, with 5000 people working out of there - we have this beautiful food and beverage program that supports that. We also have two hotels which again help anchor the business side of the estate.
.jpeg)
But then we have this public facing side. So British Airways ARC, this 3800-capacity venue and then next year the British Airways Theatre, which will be 1500 capacity. They work really well together. And guess what? If you want to come to a show and have dinner first they can take in a meal and have amazing views of London.”
But as the theatre suggests, culture is at the heart of it, something very deliberate “We're in the people business, right? We create experiences for people,” says Volkert, “We didn't get into the residential market, we didn't get into the retail market. The theme is experience. And we really wanna be strategically true to that and that's where the culture, the music, and the event halls come together.”
For Lucy Noble, Senior Vice President at AEG who is overseeing ARC, bringing a world-class line-up of diverse performers to the venue is going to bring in a wide variety of Londoners, but also just the spectacle of it.
“The whole campus of the Olympia area has been redesigned, it’s looking gorgeous, and we’ve put a state-of-the-art music venue is on top of the grade 2 listed Grand Hall,” she marvels, “We've designed a mid-size venue to be excellent in every way. From an artist's point of view, when you look out, even though it's quite a large capacity, it feels very intimate and you feel very connected to the audience, but then from the audience's point of view, you can sit in the back row of the balcony, and the stage doesn't seem that far away at all. it feels really close up and intimate.”
Upcoming shows include a residency by Van Morrison, shows by The Black Keys and Zac Brown, and a future schedule that will encompass comedy and talks as well as music. Noble thinks it’s all a sign of live music being very much alive in London: “I think it's really vibrant and I think that the live experience is so crucial to the entertainment industry and for people to get out and have those communal experiences.”
Exciting times - which at ARC, comes with a self-serve bar. Something the Standard stood in wonder at for quite some time. Back on stage, Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s first Self Esteem show in months - she’s been starring on stage in Teeth ‘N’ Smiles at the Duke of York’s Theatre - was an exhilarating start.
Combining spectacle - from Handmaid’s Tale style severity to a school gym set up where she chomps on a banana – with anthems that manage to combine collective disco joy with searing feminist messaging and pure Northern wit (The Deep Blue Okay hitting a huge climax), Rotherham’s finest has to acknowledge at the end that, “I am exactly where I need to be.”
What a start for a new venue.
For more information visit britishairwaysarc.co.uk
