Nottingham Royal Concert Hall 4.68

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall is a concert hall in the English city of Nottingham. It is owned by Nottingham City Council and is part of a complex that also includes the city's Theatre Royal. The Royal Concert Hall's striking modern architecture has proved to be a city landmark at the heart of Nottingham City Centre, opposite the more recently built The Cornerhouse complex.The concert hall is served by the adjacent Royal Centre tram stop on the Nottingham Express Transit.HistoryThe site of the Royal Concert Hall was previously the old 'Empire Palace of Varieties' designed and built in 1898 by Frank Matcham. The Empire closed for the last time in 1958 and was demolished for road-widening in 1969.Designed by the Renton Howard Wood Levin Partnership (architects of the Sheffield Crucible Theatre), the hall cost £12 million to complete. The project's client was Nottingham City Council, who were ambitious to win acclaim for their hall as a first-rate local, national and international venue for concerts and conferences.Work on the Royal Concert Hall began in 1980 and was completed in 1982, providing Nottingham with a contemporary 2,499-seater, state-of-the-art, air-conditioned auditorium complete with a highly versatile sound and lighting system. The first artist to perform there was Elton John in November 1982.