Earls Court One (1991–2014) | |
 Earls Court Exhibition Centre in 2008 | |
 Interactive map of Earls Court Exhibition Centre | |
| Location | Kensington,Fulham,London,SW5 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°29′20″N0°11′52″W / 51.48889°N 0.19778°W /51.48889; -0.19778 |
| Public transit |  Earl's Court  West Brompton |
| Owner | TfL,APG andDelancey |
| Capacity | 20,000 |
| Surface | Versatile |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1935–37 |
| Opened | 1 September 1937; 88 years ago (1937-09-01) |
| Expanded | EC II in 1991 |
| Closed | 13 December 2014; 10 years ago (2014-12-13) |
| Demolished | 2014–2016 |
| Construction cost | £1.5 million (£132 million in 2023 pounds[1]) |
| Architect | C. Howard Crane |
Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue inLondon, England. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, originally opened in 1887, with anart moderne structure built between 1935 and 1937 by specialist American architectC. Howard Crane. With the active support of London mayorBoris Johnson, in an attempt to create Europe's "largest regeneration scheme", its proposed heritage listing was refused after it was acquired by developers, who promptly in 2008 applied for and were granted aCertificate of Immunity from Listing byEnglish Heritage, and its demolition was completed in 2017.[2]
Located inEarl's Court but straddling the boundary between theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and theBorough of Hammersmith and Fulham, it was the largest such venue within the capital served by twoLondon Underground stations—one of them,Earl's Court tube station, being specially adapted with a tunnel for show visitors, and in latter years with a direct link toHeathrow Airport. The founder of the entertainment grounds was theLeeds entrepreneurJohn R. Whitley and the first attraction headlined performances byBuffalo Bill Cody as part of the American Show visited byQueen Victoria and subsequently by members of theRoyal Household.[3] This was followed by numerous other exhibitions representing countries such as Canada, France and India.
Earls Court was widely known for serving as London's and the country's premier exhibition venue for many decades, hosting theRoyal Smithfield Show,Royal Tournament, theBritish International Motor Show,London Boat Show, theIdeal Home Show,Billy Graham rallies, theBrit Awards (until 2010),Crufts and other events such as large scaleopera productions andpop concerts in addition to hundreds of trade shows, such as theLondon Book Fair.[4] It was also used as one of the venues for both the1948 and2012 Olympic Games.
Before 1887,Earl's Court was farmland attached to Earl's Court Manor. With the arrival of a multiplicity of railway companies, and before London Underground became distinct from the cross-country railways, the tracks formed a triangle which became 'waste ground'. The introduction of two Underground stations, and a mass network of rails trapped the land. The notion of introducing education and entertainment to the area was effected byJohn Robinson Whitley, an entrepreneur who used the land as a showground for a five years from 1887. Whitley did not profit from his efforts, yet his desire had decided the future of Earl's Court and its purpose in later years. TheGreat Wheel, aFerris wheel, was created forImre Kiralfy'sEmpire of India Exhibition in 1895. A plaque in the EC press centre commemorated some of these facts and that the reclusiveQueen Victoria was an occasional visitor to the shows. Kiralfy had the neighbouring Empress Hall built to seat 6,000 people and then had the Earls Court grounds converted in the style of the 1893 Chicago White City for theColumbian Exposition, and went on to found nearbyWhite City in 1908.
In 1935, Earls Court was sold and the new owners decided to construct an exhibition centre, with an internal pool, to rival any other in the world and to dominate the nearbyOlympia exhibition hall. The plan was to create Europe's largest structure by volume. The project did not go exactly to plan; it ran over budget and was late in completion. Designed by the specialist American theatre architect,C. Howard Crane, with over 40,000 sq m of space over two levels, Earls Court finally opened its doors to the public for the Chocolate and Confectionery Exhibition on 1 September 1937.[5] TheBritish International Motor Show immediately followed and later the Commercial Vehicle show. In spite of all the problems during the latter part of its construction, the project was eventually completed at a cost of £1.5 million.
At the centre of Earls Court was its internal pool or "lake" (its basin being 60m long and 30m wide), which for use took four days to fill and four days to empty; 21⁄4 million gallons of water were required to fill it. These operations could only be accomplished at night, so as not to put undue strain on local services. A 750-tonne retractable floor in three sections covered the pool when not in use and was lowered using water hydraulic rams.[6] The pool was used for watercraft exhibitions and lastly as a feature for theIdeal Home Show in 2011.
A new entrance toEarl's Court tube station was constructed on Warwick Road to facilitate easy access to the exhibition centre, including a direct entrance from the underground passage which connected the District and Piccadilly lines. However, this was closed in the 1990s after the capacity of the exhibition centre had been expanded by the construction of a second hall,Earls Court Two, in an effort to compete with theNational Exhibition Centre inBirmingham.[7]
 Entrance to Earls Court Two, 2009 | |
 Interactive map of Earls Court Two | |
| Location | Kensington,London,SW5 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Owner | Capital and Counties Plc |
| Capacity | 10,750 or 6,000 (seated) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 17 October 1991 |
| Closed | 13 December 2014 |
| Demolished | 2015 |
| Construction cost | £100 million (£383 million in 2023 pounds[1]) |
In 1985 it was decided by the then ownersP&O to expand the covered venue to fend off competition from rival national venues, such as the NEC in Birmingham and in response to the drastic need to increase exhibition space.
Earls Court Two was built over the London Underground andBritish Rail lines and adjacent land originally occupied by a mass of sheds linked to theLillie Bridge Engineering and Railway Depot in Hammersmith and Fulham. Earls Court Two was constructed at a cost of £100 million. The barrel-roofed hall linked with Earls Court One; the hall's 17,000 sq m floor was entirely column-free and could hold a maximum capacity of 10,750. The hall was opened byDiana, Princess of Wales on 17 October 1991. The biennialLondon Motorfair was the first event held in the new hall. Following the construction of Earls Court Two, the original building became known sometimes as Earls Court One. One of the largest gatherings at Earls Court II was theUnited Kingdom Padhramni from 5–14 August 1994 when theAga Khan visited daily for a series of religious gatherings with the UK and internationalIsmailiMuslim community.
Earls Court Two was demolished byCapco Plc in 2015.
With falling attendances and the sale of Earls Court-Olympia to a newly formed developer group in 2008 confidential plans were drawn up to demolish Earls Court. These were approved in outline by the two local authorities in 2013, along with a swathe of public housing, existing retail and the historicLillie Bridge Depot inFulham in order to make way for four new urban "villages" inspired byTerry Farrell on the 80-acre site, which was expected to be completed in 2033. Demolition work began on the site in December 2014 following its closure on 13 December.[8] The final event in the main Earls Court was a concert by indie rock bandBombay Bicycle Club.[9] The final event to be broadcast from the venue was the2014 BBC Music Awards two days earlier. As of 2025 the site remains derelict.
Earls Court hosted many shows and exhibitions throughout the years, including theEarls Court Motor Show,Ideal Home Show and theBRIT Awards. TheMPH Show, one of Britain's largest motoring exhibitions and shows, hosted byJeremy Clarkson and others, took place there each winter after an earlier showing at theNational Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
Each summer from 1950 to 1999, Earls Court was home to theRoyal Tournament, the first, oldest and biggestmilitary tattoo in the world. For this the area now occupied by Earls Court Two became a stables, artillery and vehicle depot for some two months, with several hundred military personnel from all three services billeted 'on site'.
TheProfessional Lighting and Sound Association held its annual trade show, thePLASA Show, at Earls Court between 1992 and 2012. The 2013 show was held at ExCeL.
London Film and Comic Con was hosted at Earls Court 2, held every July. The convention held autograph and photoshoot sessions with celebrity guests as well as providing a place to play games and buy collectables. In July 2014, due to the increase in the event's popularity, it was hosted in both Earls Court 1 and Earls Court 2.
Notable historic exhibitions at the centre included:
The central area of the main hall concealed a massive pool area, formerly used for theLondon Boat Show which was held annually from 1960 until 2003. The event transferred toExCeL in the London Docklands the following year. It was also briefly used for theEarls Court Boat Show in 2007 and 2008.
During theFirst World War, Earls Court Exhibition grounds, including the adjacent 6,000 seaterEmpress Hall, turned into a huge refugee camp of theBritish Government. From 15 October 1914 onwards until 1919, more than 100,000Belgian refugees stayed in this camp.[11]
Empress Hall was the site of the first game played outside of North America by any of the major North American professional sports leagues, when on 21 April 1938 theDetroit Red Wings and theMontreal Canadiens of theNHL played the starting game of the1938 Detroit Red Wings–Montreal Canadiens European tour there.[12]
The venue hosted theNews of the World Darts Championship final stages from 1950 to 1958.[13]
Inprofessional wrestling, theWorld Wrestling Federation[note 1] staged the2000[14] and2001[15] editions of their annual UK-exclusiveInsurrextionPay-per-view at Earl's Court, drawing an attendance of 17,000 and 16,000 respectively. The WWE returned to hold a TV taping in April 2007, taping an episode ofMonday Night Raw[16] andHeat[17] on 23 April and an episode ofECW[18] andFriday Night SmackDown[19] on 24 April. The episode of Raw's main event featured a 60-minuteIron Man match betweenWWE ChampionJohn Cena andShawn Michaels, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest matches in the show's history.[20][21] On 27 July 2014,Japanese promotionDragon Gate held the final show of their UK affiliate promotion at Earl's Court.[22]
Earls Court hosted the volleyball competitions in the2012 Summer Olympics. The volleyball events were scheduled for the multi-sport arenas in theOlympic Park.[23] At the1948 Summer Olympics, the venue hosted theboxing preliminaries,gymnastics,weightlifting, andwrestling events.[24]
The London leg of the2010 FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour was held at Earls Court Two on 11 March, withWayne Rooney making an appearance with the trophy.[citation needed]
Earls Court was the venue for the visit or mulaqat of theAga Khan during the inauguration of theIsmaili Centre atCromwell Gardens on 24 April 1985.[citation needed]
Earls Court was one of the most popular arenas to play in the UK, with a capacity of around 19,000 including standing room, meaning it was often chosen over other venues by bands with a large fan base.Slade[25] andDavid Bowie[26] were the first rock acts to play there, in 1973.Led Zeppelin performedfive sold-out shows at the venue in May 1975.Queen played there on June 6 and 7, 1977, for two sold-out shows. Bowie's 1978 concert performance, part of hisIsolar II Tour, was released asWelcome to the Blackout (Live London '78) in 2018.Pink Floyd performed live shows since 1972, and the concerts fromThe Wall Tour in 1980 and 1981 were recorded and released in 2000 asIs There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81, while performances fromThe Division Bell Tour in October 1994 were recorded and released on the live concert filmPulse.Genesis performed live shows since 1977, and between 2 and 8 November 1992 they performed 6 shows at the venue during theirWe Can't Dance Tour, in which their shows on 6–8 November were filmed and later released on VHS and later DVD under the titleThe Way We Walk. In November 1995,Oasis staged the two biggest ever indoor gigs at the time in Europe, at a specially expanded Earls Court. Between 28 May and 1 June 2002, Irish vocal pop bandWestlife held concerts as part of theirWorld of Our Own Tour supporting their albumWorld of Our Own.[citation needed] However, after the opening ofthe O2 Arena in 2007, concert performances at Earls Court were rarer.Iron Maiden performed at Earls Court in 2000, 2003 and two nights in 2006 - each time sold out with circa 21,000 in attendance.[27]
On the night of 12 October 1994,Pink Floyd were scheduled to begin a 14-night residency of the venue as part ofThe Division Bell Tour. During their opening song, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"[28] a section of seating, containing 1,200 attendees, collapsed, injuring 90 people with no fatalities.[29] The show was immediately cancelled and rescheduled for 17 October.[29][28]
On 11, 12, 14 and 15 December 1999, theSpice Girls performedChristmas in Spiceworld Tour.
While dismantling the stage on 16 December, a worker died from falling more than 80 ft.[30]
The Brit Awards, theBritish Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards, were first held at Earls Court in 1996 and 1997. The awards show returned in 2000 at Earls Court Two, before moving back to the main Earls Court in 2006. The awards show moved toThe O2 Arena in 2011.
Before moving to the Birmingham's NEC,Crufts Dog show was held here annually. With public andKennel club concerns about the neglect and mistreatment of dogs, it introduced an annual exhibition aimed at showing how best to look after dogs as pets or care companions. This wasDiscover Dogs. The last show in London was held in 2014.[citation needed]
The owner of Earls Court andOlympia,Capital & Counties Properties (also known as Capco), opened discussions in 2010 with the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea to demolish the existing landmark centre and redevelop the area with up to 8,000 residential flats, retail outlets and, possibly, a new convention centre.[31][32][33]
Demolition work began on the site in December 2014.
Since the 1970s, Earls Court-Olympia had acquired parcels of industrial land west of theWest London Railway inFulham to use as a marshalling yard and overspill car park for the exhibition centre. Prior to its early 20th-century mixed industrial use, as a coal yard and for the automotive industry, the 20 or so acres were known as the "Lillie Bridge Grounds", a popular sports destination.[34] Since the site's acquisition by Capco plc as part of the Earls Court Exhibition Centre deal, it is being redeveloped as "Lillie Square", an estate of apartment blocks, some of them high-rise.[35]
The demolition of Earls Court was opposed by the 'Earl's Court Area Action Group', which began a 'Save Earl's Court' campaign.[36] The Group is composed of local residents and interested parties who would be affected by the exhibition centre's destruction and subsequent 20 years of proposed redevelopment.
Darren Johnson, aGreen Party member of the London Assembly, wrote to theMayor of London,Boris Johnson, and argued that "the Earl's Court demolition plans are a recipe for a disaster, with massive economic, social and environmental consequences. The winners will be the wealthy developers and overseas property speculators while the losers will be the community, local businesses and Londoners who will lose one of the capital's key exhibition centres."[37]
The Guardian's London blogger Dave Hill cited concerns over the number and relative affordability of the housing units that will be constructed on the site after the proposed demolition of Earls Court, as well as concerns over the views of local residents.[38]
Despite the opposition, Boris Johnson approved the redevelopment plans on 3 July 2013.[39]
Since the election of a Labour majority on the Hammersmith and Fulham side of the boundary in 2014, relations between the developers and elected representatives have soured if not stalled. Sensitivities on the Conservative Kensington and Chelsea side have grown since theGrenfell tragedy in 2017 has put elected representatives in the spotlight in relation to their public responsibilities. During 2018 the developers have been touting for buyers to off-load at least part of the scheme. In February 2019Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council let it be known they were considering aCompulsory purchase order to take over the Earls Court and adjacent land currently banked by the developers. In May 2019 H&F Council indicated they would be going ahead with raising £200 million capital to compulsorily purchase the land, including that inRBKC, with a view to "remastering" the plans, a decision to be considered at a full council meeting in September 2019. A spokesman for the developers responded that the council had not demonstrated their capacity to do this.[40]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2022) |
Capco plc sold their declining interest in Earls Court toAPG, a Dutch pension fund, and to the British firm Delancey for £425 million in November 2019. In 2015 Capco plc was valued at £1.4 billion. The two Hammersmith and Fulham housing estates are to be sold back to the Council at cost.[41]
| Preceded by | Miss World venue 2011 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| Geographic | |
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