Olympia has always graced London with its presence. For more than 140 years, it has occupied a unique place in London’s cultural landscape. Since opening its doors in 1886, the iconic West London venue has welcomed generations of visitors through its grand exhibition halls and stunning rooftops, all while hosting everything from international trade shows and fashion events to concerts and cultural gatherings.
Today, it’s not just refurbished. It’s a full-on regeneration. After a £1.3 billion transformation, Olympia is easily the most exciting up-and-coming project in London. It has become a vibrant destination where culture, hospitality, entertainment, and business come together.
Rather than replacing its heritage, the redevelopment celebrates it. Original architectural features have been carefully restored and integrated into a contemporary vision designed by Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC, creating a destination that respects its past while embracing the future. The result is a rare example of regeneration that feels both timeless and forward-thinking, preserving one of London’s most recognisable landmarks while introducing an entirely new way to experience it.
The Big Idea Behind It All
Olympia’s regeneration is about more than adding a few new venues and calling it a day. The ambition is much larger than that. The idea is to create a destination that people come to not just for an event, but for the experience itself.
That means a place where you can arrive for lunch, stay for a show, check into a hotel, wander through public spaces, and still feel like you have only scratched the surface. It is a carefully built ecosystem of culture, leisure, and lifestyle — and that is exactly what makes it exciting.
The scale of the project is part of the appeal. Olympia is being reshaped into a layered urban playground, one that blends old and new in a way London does so well when it gets it right. There is grandeur, yes, but also energy. It is the kind of redevelopment that does not just change a building; it changes the mood of an entire neighbourhood.
Canopy: Olympia’s New Playground for Food and Drink
Pillar Hall began proceedings, opening earlier this year. If there is one part of Olympia that feels especially ready to steal the show, it is Canopy.
Opening on a striking rooftop, this new dining and drinking destination is designed to feel social, lively, and exclusive. With a launch party that included a speech from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, it’s the sort of place that instantly becomes a talking point. It’s not simply about eating and drinking; it is about atmosphere. The whole point was to create a place where people want to linger, catch up, people-watch, and return again and again.
The line-up is deliberately varied and full of personality. Barbarella brings a Mexican-inspired energy with cocktails and small plates. Wolves of Tokyo channels the after-dark buzz of Japan’s capital. Lillie’s offers a more refined British elegance with seasonal plates and sparkling wine. And Arbour pulls everything together with a multi-concept food hall that promises plenty of choice, from fried chicken to coffee to burgers and beyond. All of these venues also have rather cool rooftops which are worth checking out. And if the weather is not on our side, there is a retractable roof too.
It is the sort of mix that makes Olympia feel less like a venue with restaurants and more like a destination with its own flavour profile. Stylish, buzzy, and built for long, enjoyable evenings, Canopy is shaping up to be one of the most interesting new openings in London.
Entertainment Takes Centre Stage
Olympia has always been a place for gathering, but the new chapter takes that instinct and turns the volume up.
At the heart of the entertainment offering is British Airways ARC, a 3,800-capacity live music venue opening with serious ambition. Operated by AEG Presents, it is designed to bring major artists and unforgettable nights to West London, giving the area a venue that feels both substantial and intimate.
That sense of scale matters. Olympia is not trying to be one thing; it is trying to be many things at once. A concert one night, a cultural outing the next, a dinner-and-drinks destination on the weekend. It is that versatility that makes the project feel so current.
And then there is the British Airways Theatre, which promises to add yet another layer to Olympia’s cultural identity. Together, these venues create a sense that something is always happening here. Olympia is not just being opened up to the public — it is being activated.
A New Kind of Luxury in West London
A destination of this scale needs somewhere to stay, and Olympia is answering with two very different but equally compelling hotel openings.
Hyatt Regency London Olympia brings a more elevated, full-service sense of luxury. It feels like the kind of hotel that will appeal to both business travellers and leisure guests looking for comfort with a polished edge. It is the sort of property that complements the energy of the wider development while offering a quieter, more refined place to retreat to at the end of the day.
Then there is citizenM London Olympia, which brings a different kind of appeal altogether — contemporary, clever and design-led, with the brand’s signature smart-luxury approach. It adds a more playful, modern note to the destination and broadens Olympia’s hospitality offering in a way that feels practical as well as stylish.
Together, the hotels help Olympia function as a true stay-and-play destination. You are not just visiting Olympia anymore; you can actually live inside the experience for a night, a weekend, or longer.
Public Space With a Sense of Occasion
What makes Olympia’s regeneration especially interesting is that it is not only about private venues and commercial openings. Public space is a huge part of the story, too.
The development introduces 2.5 acres of new public realm, giving Olympia a sense of openness and movement that feels important in a city as dense as London. There is The Square, the rooftop setting of Canopy, Olympia Way, and the impressive new staircase connecting the destination to Kensington Olympia station.
Then there is Canvas, a digital screen designed to host art, live content, and immersive activations. It adds another layer of theatre to the site and gives Olympia a contemporary visual identity that feels very now.
All of this matters because it changes the way people will move through the area. Olympia will no longer be something you simply go into and out of. It will be a place to wander, pause, meet, explore, and discover.
More Than a Venue: A Whole New District
What Olympia is becoming is bigger than hospitality and entertainment. It is evolving into a proper district — one with workspaces, creative industries, event infrastructure, and cultural ambition all sitting alongside one another.
The development includes 550,000 square feet of office space, which adds a commercial heartbeat to the project and helps anchor it as a living, working part of the city. It also brings in a new International Convention Centre and other facilities that broaden Olympia’s appeal far beyond leisure.
That combination of business and pleasure is where Olympia becomes especially interesting. It is not a one-note destination. It is a place where different parts of city life overlap — where a conference can lead to cocktails, where an exhibition can turn into a dinner reservation, where a theatre night can end with a rooftop drink.
It is this layered quality that makes the regeneration feel so promising. Olympia is not trying to imitate London’s existing cultural hotspots. It is trying to create something with its own identity.
Why Olympia Matters Now
There is a reason Olympia is capturing attention. In a city full of big launches and glossy openings, this one feels genuinely ambitious.
Once fully operational, the destination is expected to contribute more than £600 million a year to the UK economy, create thousands of jobs, and attract millions of visitors. But beyond the numbers, what stands out is the imagination behind the project.
Olympia is being built for how people want to spend time now: socially, experientially, and with a sense of discovery. It combines heritage with newness, scale with intimacy, and design with purpose. That is not easy to do — and it is exactly why this regeneration feels so compelling.
Olympia is no longer just a venue on the map. It is becoming a destination with its own rhythm, its own energy, and, very soon, its own very loyal audience.
To discover more, visit www.olympia.co.uk
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All photos courtesy of: Josh Bratt, Heatherwick Studio, and Olympia