A new 3,800 capacity music venue called the British Airways ARC has been announced to open in London next year. Today, AEG Presents UK have announced the new venue. The music venue will be situated above the current west exhibition hall at Olympia, London. Its official ticketing partner has been confirmed to be AXS, and the venue’s partner has been named as British Airways.
While an official launch date hasn’t been made public yet, the venue’s booking diary is open and music fans will be able to find out more about the venue and its first acts by signing up on their official website, to access their mailing list. The first acts are expected to be announced in the next few months.
The new venue will be located in Olympia to preserve their musical history, with Olympia having previously hosted the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Cure, Rod Stewart, The Chemical Brothers, Pink Floyd, The Who, and more.
In a press statement, AEG Presents Europe’s COO Andrew Spencer said, “Olympia is a place that has an incredible musical history which we want to honour whilst creating a venue that is thoroughly modern with world class facilities for artists and fans alike.”
The COO of British Airways Calum Laming also said, “Together with AEG Presents UK, not only are we creating unique experiences for audiences, we’re also helping shine a spotlight on the next generation of talent. As the flag carrier for the UK, it’s important to us that we represent modern Britain at home and all around the world, and we’re so excited to be a part of Olympia to showcase the very best homegrown and international entertainment.”
Besides the new British Airways ARC venue, AEG Presents UK also owns other music venues such as Indigo at the O2, Eventim Apollo, Watford Colosseum, and University of Wolverhampton at The Halls. AEG Presents also runs several major music events across the UK, including BST Hyde Park at London’s Hyde Park, and All Points East Festival at London’s Victoria Park.
They also promote intimate concerts at the Eden Project called the Eden Sessions which offer concerts in a unique natural setting, and C2C: Country to Country, Europe’s leading country music festival. Other festivals include Forwards Festival in Bristol, and LIDO Festival in East London.
New additions include Roundhay Festival in Leeds, launching in 2026, and Forever Now at Milton Keynes Bowl (an alternative one-day event). AEG also produces The Castle Sessions at Warwick Castle, where they present open-air concerts in a historic venue.
