London’s Alexandra Palace is the latest venue to be profiled in the AAA Explores video series.

The historic venue may well be best known for its 10,250-capacity Great Hall, which has hosted countless artists from Queen to Charlie XCX, but the facility offers a wide range of event spaces both indoor and out.

Each year ‘Ally Pally’ attracts a million visitors, with event audiences ranging in size from 1,000 to 45,000, in locations across the site including its Great and West Halls, Park, and the Victorian Theatre (cap. 1300) that was reopened in 2018 after 80 years of closure. A recent addition to the event offering at one of the UK’s biggest independent venues, run by a charity, is the Terrace. Last year the Terrace was firmly established as its fourth space for live music, with a capacity of 2000.

Involving interviews with head of programming Sophie Varnava, commercial director Lucy Fenner and director of events Simon Fell, the AAA Explores film outlines the array of event production possibilities at Alexandra Palace.

Recent years have seen the entire Alexandra Palace estate brought to life with a remarkable range of events including The World Darts Championship, Masters Snooker, The Redbull Soapbox Race, its Fireworks Festival attended by 80,000 people, and the Kaleidoscope Festival (cap. 11,000) that takes place against the backdrop of the city skyline.

Back for its sixth year, Kaleidoscope Festival will return to the ‘People’s Palace’ on 11 July with a lineup including Rudimental, Groove Armada, MJ Cole, Black Grape and Roni Size. Alongside the music, the event will also feature a comedy lineup including Russell Kane and numerous other options ranging from Hip Hop Karaoke and Disco Yoga to a dedicated family area.

The 196-acre Park is also home to Ally Pally’s annual Summer Season of outdoor gigs (cap. 14,000), which this year will include performances from The Maccabees (9 July), Wet Leg (10 July), Super Furry Animals (12 July), The Streets (16–18 July) and Richard Ashcroft (17 July).

It’s been a story of evolution since Alexandra Palace opened in 1873, with the event capabilities having been dramatically expanded in recent years to also include everything from album launches, such as Ed Sheeran’s ‘=’ in 2022; brand activations including Fat Boy Slim partnering with EE for the world’s biggest holographic performance in 2023; and TV shows including Later… Live with Jools Holland. The venue also played host to the first Earthshot Prize, which saw Coldplay perform in the Park, powered by 60 cyclists.

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