London’s Royal Festival Hall set to reopen

London’s Royal Festival Hall will reopen next week following a £91 million refurbishment to restore the Grade I listed building to its original glory.

Almost every surface in the 2,788 seat auditorium has been removed, adapted and restored to improve the acoustics of the space, while a new extension has been built to house staff and production facilities, adding an extra 35% of space to the hall.

Double-size interval bars have been fitted along with outdoor balconies overlooking the Thames, while all seats in the auditorium have been refurbished and given an additional three inches of legroom.

An opening weekend begins on June 8 with massed choirs arriving by candlelit river barge at Festival Pier and continues with music, open-air dancing and spectacle across the Southbank Centre. Some 24,000 free tickets will be distributed for special performances in the hall, continuing until dusk on Sunday night, before the official first night gala concert on June 11.

The the refurbishment team were included Project Manager's - Lend Lease Projects, Architects - Allies and Morrison, Cost Consultant's - Davis Langdon