The first concerts to take place since 2022 in the Grand Hall at West London’s Olympia complex have been cancelled following a “planning and operational review”. Royal Blood, Interpol, Bloc Party and Jamie T were all due to play shows in the 7000 capacity hall this December, the first concerts in the venue since the wider Olympia site re-opened in June following a £1.3 billion redevelopment. 

A statement from the venue says, “we are disappointed to announce that the concerts scheduled to take place in the Grand Hall at Olympia in December 2026 will not proceed as planned. Following recent planning and operational review work associated with these events and given the regulatory process and timetable involved, it is not possible to move forward with these concerts in December”. 

Jamie T’s shows have been moved to the larger Wembley Arena, but the Royal Blood, Interpol and Bloc Party shows have been called off. In a statement on social media, Royal Blood explain that, “despite exploring every option, there are no viable alternative venues in London” on the day they were due to play, 3 Dec. 

Capacity wise, Olympia’s Grand Hall is conveniently placed between the capital’s biggest theatre venues and its arenas, with relatively few alternatives available at that size. Even if the Wembley Arena was available on 3 Dec – which it isn’t, because EsDeeKid is playing there that night – it’s significantly bigger with a capacity of 12,500. 

Royal Blood’s statement continues, “We are absolutely gutted that we cannot perform at Olympia as planned and know that this will be disappointing to our fans who’ve bought tickets and made arrangements to see us”. With no alternative venues available that day, they say they decided it was better to cancel than to “cause further disruption to people’s plans over the Christmas period”. 

Bloc Party, who were due to co-headline with Interpol, say they have also been unable to reschedule their shows, “despite our very best efforts”. They added that Olympia’s owners had “run into problems with their planning application, something completely unforeseen and beyond our control”. 

The revamped Olympia site opened in June this year. The complex now also includes a specific smaller music venue – called British Airways ARC, run by AEG Presents and with a capacity of 3800 – which is not affected by the planning issues. 

The December shows in the Grand Hall were announced last year as a Winter Music Series, presented by Legends Global – which operates the core Olympia venues – in partnership with SJM Concerts. 

At the time, James Harrison, VP of Programming (UK/EU) at Legends Global, said, “Whilst the full Olympia site is being completely transformed, the iconic Grand Hall remains the centre piece of the new destination, and one that Legends Global are very proud to operate”. 

“We’re focused”, he added, “on delivering some unforgettable nights here and I look forward to continuing to work with our friends at SJM to deliver more huge gigs in this incredible venue”. 

Presumably that’s still the plan once the tedious “regulatory process” has been completed. 

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