The event entitled “The Lyrics: Paul McCartney in Conversation” will be presented by the Southbank Centre in partnership with Penguin Live.  The London event venue and famous publishers will host the event on Friday 5th November 2017 at 7:30 pm within the venue’s Royal Festival Hall. The event will be chaired by British journalist and writer Samira Ahmed and will also be live-streamed globally by DICE, the stream will be available to watch on-demand for a week after the initial broadcast.

Southbank Centre took to their Instagram to announce the news of the upcoming event.

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The live theatre event’s tickets will go on sale on 17th September 2017 at 10 am but members of the Southbank Centre will be able to book tickets on Thursday 16th September 2021 at 10 am. With a seating capacity of 2,700 people, tickets are sure to sell out quick. General sales for the live-streamed event will commence on Friday 17th September 2021 at 10 am and are £10, ticket prices for the theatre event range between £35-£55. A discounted hardback edition of the book usually priced at £75 will be available to ticket-holders when booking for the event.

The event will be McCartney’s first live and in-person appearance in two years, ticket-holders and viewers will see McCartney discuss his new book and reflect on his personal and professional achievements. The former Beatle will also speak on his famed musical career whilst exploring his creative process, the celebrated musician will also discuss his creative partnership with Paul Muldoon, editor for the upcoming book. A powerhouse of creativity; Muldoon is a writer and poet has won a Pulitzer Prize as well as the T.S Eliot Prize.

The South Bank Centre’s website provides the following statement concerning the upcoming event. “Paul McCartney celebrates his new book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, in a world-exclusive event with author Paul Muldoon, chaired by Samira Ahmed. Hear them discuss the extraordinary book in which, with unparalleled candour, McCartney recounts his life and art through the prism of 154 songs from all stages of his career The Lyrics encompasses his earliest boyhood compositions through the legendary decade of The Beatles, to Wings and his solo albums to the present. Arranged alphabetically to provide a kaleidoscopic rather than chronological account, it establishes definitive texts of the songs’ lyrics for the first time and describes the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what he thinks of them now. Presented with this is a treasure trove of never-seen-before material from McCartney’s personal archive – drafts, letters, photographs – which make this also a unique visual record of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear McCartney discuss his life, the creative process and the moments of inspiration.”

The state-of-the-art venue is home to many theatres and libraries and leads the way in arts and culture within central London. The Royal Festival hall includes features such as Speech-to Text transcribed and British Sign Language Interpreted. The live-streamed event will also be broadcasted to all viewers and will be captioned.

Click here to buy tickets.

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Of the list of venues, many are in London based, with venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, Alexandra Palace, the Southbank Centre, the English National Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the National Theatre receiving a collected £165million in low-interest repayable finance. However, many Northern venues have also received funding, with venues such as The Factory in Manchester receiving £21 million, Nottingham’s Broadway receiving £144,000, and the Turner Contemporary in Margate receiving £264,000.

UK culture minister, Oliver Dowden spoke positively about the donations, stating that this portion of funding was withheld initially to help health officials assess “changing public health picture. This government promised it would be here for culture, and today’s announcement is proof we’ve kept our word.” Dowden said in a statement.

“The £1 billion invested so far through the Culture Recovery Fund has protected tens of thousands of jobs at cultural organisations across the UK, with more support still to come through a second round of applications. Today we’re extending a huge helping hand to the crown jewels of UK culture, so that they can continue to inspire future generations all around the world.”