About the Hall

Opened on 27th August 1849, Philharmonic Hall has long been an acclaimed and integral part of the artistic life of Liverpool, and was described as ‘the best in Europe’ by Sir Thomas Beecham before being destroyed by fire in 1933. The present hall, designed by architect Herbert Rowse and opened in 1939, quickly established itself as both a concert hall and cinema. The art deco splendour of Philharmonic Hall was restored in 1995 following a £10.3 million refurbishment; parts of the foyer are said to be based on decoration in the tomb of Tutankhamen.

Philharmonic Hall presents on average 250 concerts, events and films, attended by approximately 250,000 people per annum. The venue has an illustrious tradition of bringing the top names from rock, jazz, world, classical and contemporary music to Liverpool. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly all appeared here early on in their careers. More recent appearances have included Blondie, Sigur Ros, Nitin Sawhney, Joan Baez, Willy Nelson, Tony Bennett, Morrissey and Jamie Cullum. The Hall also features comedy – Jimmy Carr and Dara O’Briain have played here in recent months - and classic films on its unique Walturdaw rising cinema screen, the only working screen of its type left in the world. Recent screenings have included Memoirs of a Geisha, The Philadelphia Story and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

 Watch a tour of a virtual Philharmonic Hall created in Second Life ( WAV format)