The Brighton Hippodrome is holding a free open day today (Friday 30 August).
Save Our Hippodrome campaigners will be among those taking part as the doors open on the historic venue which is undergoing a multimillion-pound restoration.
The Lambor family, which bought the long-neglected venue four years ago, are welcoming the public for a final time before the next phase of their restoration project begins.
And there will be live performances at the Hippodrome for the first time since its bingo hall days.
Singing barber Peter Joannau will perform during the day, with the doors open from 10am to 4pm.
He follows in the footsteps of the likes of Max Miller, Laurel and Hardy and the Beatles.
The Hippodrome has not been used as a theatre since the 1960s and the bingo hall closed in 2006.
Since then, the building has been derelict, with the Lambors, a Brighton family, buying the site in 2020 and coming up with what they hope is a sustainable plan for the historic venue.
They have fixed the roof and carried out initial restoration work to save the building and as much of its fabric as possible while also showing its potential.
Previous open days drew hundreds of people and gave a clear sign of how much love and money they were putting into the project.
They have planning permission to revive the Hippodrome as a flexible performance venue and aim to reopen it in May 2026 – in time for the annual Brighton Festival.
The owners already have a licence in place for the food and drink that will be available when the Hippodrome once again welcomes the paying public.
The open day today is free and no booking is required.
