What Is It Like to See a Concert at Eventim Apollo?
A 1932 Art Deco picture palace turned 5,000-capacity concert room where Bowie killed Ziggy Stardust, Kate Bush ended her only tour, and the stalls floor still slopes uphill so back-of-pit standing isn't a death sentence.
What to Know Before You Go
- 1Don't drive, full stop
The venue has no parking and the surrounding streets are residential with high reported rates of car theft. The venue tells you this in writing. Hammersmith Tube is at the front door, so take the Tube, the bus, or a black cab. If you must drive, prebook a space at the Novotel London West car park (~£3/hour, 3 to 5 minutes' walk) rather than improvising.
- 2Use the right Tube exit
Hammersmith station has two separate buildings on opposite sides of the Broadway. Piccadilly and District line riders need the southern Talgarth Road exit (through Kings Mall). Hammersmith & City and Circle line riders come out on the north side and have to cross the Broadway. Wrong exit costs you 5 minutes.
- 3The stalls floor slopes uphill
This is the venue's hidden weapon. When the stalls are de-seated for standing, the floor still rises gently toward the back of the room. Back-of-pit standing keeps a viable view of the stage, which almost no other UK theatre-format venue manages. Mid-pit is the standing sweet spot.
- 4The Circle is 40 steps up with no lift
There are 39 steps from the auditorium entrance up to Circle Rows G to Z and rear circle standing. 52 steps to Circle Row F. There is no lift. If you can't manage stairs, the Circle is not an option, and you should book stalls or the rear-corner accessible platforms instead.
- 5Front Circle Rows B to F is the value pick
Often priced the same as the back of the stalls but with better elevation, a head-on view of the full stage, and the cleanest acoustic position in the room. Skip Row A if you don't want a balcony rail in front of you.
- 6Bags must be A4 or smaller
Tighter than the O2 Arena or Wembley. No backpacks, no suitcases, no laptop bags. All bags get searched on entry. If you've flown in with luggage, leave it at a Stasher or Bounce partner in Hammersmith before doors.
- 7Cashless venue, prepare a card
Bars, cloakroom, and merch are card and contactless only. No cash. International visitors arriving with only pounds in their wallet won't be able to buy anything inside.
- 8The cloakroom is £3 for a coat, £5 for a bag
It's immediately inside the front doors on the left of the foyer, and it runs out of space fast on busy nights. Drop your coat within the first 15 minutes after doors or risk being told it's full.
- 9Standing pit gets sweltering
The 1932 cinema HVAC was never designed for 5,000 sweaty bodies. Sold-out rock shows in the stalls-standing configuration get described as "sweltering" and "rammed" by fans. No re-entry on most shows, so you can't step outside to cool down. Dress light.
- 10Buy merch on the way out, not the way in
The merch stand is in the small Ground Foyer and the inbound queue mixes with the entry flow and the cloakroom queue. The exit-time merch queue is shorter, and you don't have to carry a tee through a sweaty pit.
- 11Walk to the south side of the flyover for a rideshare home
The official Queen Caroline Street drop-off zone gets unusable for 15 to 20 minutes after the show because of the crowd flow toward the Tube. Walk a few minutes south of the flyover and request your ride from there.
At a Glance
- Capacity
- 3,632 seated / 5,039 with standing pit
- Venue Type
- Theater (Art Deco, Grade II* listed)
- Year Opened
- 1932
- Seating
- Reserved + GA Floor (stalls convert)
- Cashless
- Yes
- Climate
- Indoor, no modern HVAC (hot at standing capacity)
- Parking
- None on-site; Novotel London West £3/hr nearby
- Transit
- Hammersmith Tube (Piccadilly, District, H&C, Circle), 2-3 min walk
What It's Actually Like
The Building Carries Most of the Weight
You walk through Art Deco doors on Queen Caroline Street into a foyer with two original marble staircases and the patterned terrazzo flooring the 2013 refurb dug out from under decades of carpet. The proscenium inside is restored to original green, silver, and gold. The Newbury Abbott Trent friezes from 1932 are still on the walls. This is not a metal shed pretending to be a venue, and it changes how you behave when you walk in. People talk more quietly. The room asks for it. When the singalongs start they sound different from a singalong at the O2 Arena because the room is built to project voices toward a back wall, not to soak them up.
Sloped Floor Standing Is the Venue's Cheat Code
The stalls floor slopes gently uphill toward the back of the room. When the seats come out for a standing pit, that slope stays. It means a 5'6" person at the back of standing can still see the stage over heads in front, which is something you cannot do at the Roundhouse, at Brixton Academy in standing mode, or at most flat-floor London rooms. The slope is not amphitheatre-steep, so the person directly in front of you still matters, but you're not staring at backs the way you would in a fully flat space. Mid-pit is the sweet spot: enough slope under you to see, enough crowd in front to feel the pit energy, enough air to breathe.
“The standing area on the ground floor is sloped so even if you are further back you still have a pretty good view of the stage. The way it has been designed with a sloping floor going back towards the bar area means you don't feel that you are constantly on tip toes.”
The Heat in the Pit Is Real
When 5,000 people pack into a 1932 building that was designed as a cinema, the temperature climbs aggressively and stays there. Fans on TripAdvisor and Trustpilot from 2023 through 2025 describe sold-out standing shows here as "sweltering," "rammed," and "incredibly hot." The HVAC was never upgraded to modern arena standards because the building is Grade II* listed and you can't just tear out walls to install ducting. The flip side: at quieter seated shows, the room can feel cold and drafty because the lobby doors open straight onto the Broadway. Dress for the show type, not the weather. Standing rock show: t-shirt and leave the coat at the cloakroom. Seated theatre show in February: keep a layer on.
The "Stand Up and Dance" Problem
The seats in the stalls are old, narrow, and tightly packed, and when a touring artist tells the crowd to "feel free to get up and dance" (which happens at most rock and pop shows), the people behind a stander cannot see anything until they also stand. There's no staggered riser, no compensating tier, no way to lean and still see past. This is the venue's most consistently flagged seated-stalls complaint. If you specifically need to remain seated for back, knee, or accessibility reasons and you've booked stalls, expect to lose your sightline as soon as the front of your row stands. Front Circle is a better bet in that situation: the rake is steep enough that even a standing audience can't fully block you.
The Balcony Overhang Cuts the Acoustics
The Circle hangs over the rear half of the stalls. The lip falls roughly around Stalls Row Q to R depending on the configuration. From Q backward, you're seated or standing under the balcony, and the sound flattens noticeably: the high end gets cut, the low end gets boomier, and you feel further from the show than you actually are. This is the most common complaint about rear-stalls tickets at the Apollo. If you're choosing between rear-stalls and front-Circle at the same price (which is often the case), front Circle wins on both sightline and sound.
Section-by-Section Guide
Stalls Standing (de-seated stalls)
Available when the stalls are fully de-seated for a standing show. Capacity in this configuration takes the building from about 3,632 seated to about 5,039. The pit extends from the stage barrier back to the rear bar at the back of the stalls.
The sloped floor is what makes this section work. Even back-of-pit standing keeps a viable sightline over heads in front, which is rare for UK theatre-format venues. The front rail puts you within touching distance of the stage edge for the right shows; the crowd density here generates the kind of pit energy theatre venues usually can't manage. Singalong-friendly acts get the room going hard.
The trade-offs are real. Sold-out shows get sweltering: fans consistently report poor airflow and crush at the back of the pit, with staff "herding" people forward to fit more bodies in (per fan reports across TripAdvisor and singletrackworld threads, 2023 to 2024). The front of the pit sits directly in front of the PA stacks, so bring earplugs. No re-entry on most shows means you can't step outside to cool off.
Best strategy: If you want the front rail, queue along Queen Caroline Street 30 to 60 minutes before doors. If you want a viable view without the front-rail crush, the sloped back third of the pit (roughly where Stalls Rows T to Y would normally sit) gives you a usable sightline with room to breathe. If you're under about 5'6", the Apollo's slope helps more than at other venues but you're still subject to whoever is in front of you. Front Circle Row B is a smarter ticket in that case.
Stalls Seated (Rows A through Y)
About 1,417 seats. Rows are tightly packed with original-era narrow theatre seats. Legroom is limited versus a modern arena. The floor slopes gently upward toward the rear; combined with the seat tier, most rows keep a usable sightline as long as the row in front stays seated.
Front Stalls (Rows A through F): Closest seated rows to the stage, eye level roughly at stage edge, looking slightly up at the performer. Best for acoustic acts and shows where you want to read facial expressions. Tall overhead production (hanging lighting trusses, top screens) gets cropped because you're craning up.
Mid Stalls (Rows G through P): The seated-stalls sweet spot. Far enough back to see the full stage rig, close enough to feel inside the show. The slope starts to help here. If you're choosing between a high-priced front-stalls ticket and a reasonable mid-stalls ticket, mid-stalls is usually the better experience for a full-production tour.
Rear Stalls (Rows Q through Y): Under the balcony overhang. Both view and sound deteriorate noticeably. The lip cuts off the top of the stage rig, the high end flattens, and you feel further from the show than the distance would suggest. Fans repeatedly report rear-stalls tickets feeling overpriced versus the cheaper Circle alternatives at the same price band (per TripAdvisor reviews, 2023 to 2025). Skip these for front Circle if the price is the same.
Circle (Rows A through Z and Rear Circle Standing)
About 1,924 seats. One steep balcony arc covering the rear half of the stalls. Larger by seat count than the stalls, and widely considered the better-value half of the building.
Front Circle (Rows A through F): The best-value seats in the room per fan consensus on SeatPlan, Theatremonkey, and TripAdvisor. Often priced the same as back-of-stalls but with better elevation, a head-on view of the full stage rig, and the cleanest acoustic position in the venue. Row A has the balcony rail in front of you, which some fans love (a lean point) and some hate (cuts off the bottom of the stage). Row B is usually the smartest pick: all of Row A's benefits, no rail in your face.
Mid Circle (Rows G through M): Sound is still good. Distance grows but the room is small enough that you can still read facial expressions without screens. The rake here is comfortable but already steep enough that fans with vertigo should think twice.
Rear Circle (Rows N through Z): Distance becomes a real factor. You're at the back of a 1932 cinema, which means you're further from the stage than the upper deck of most modern arenas at the same headcount. Reviews split: some fans love the panoramic view of the full room, others describe it as feeling "remote" and disconnected, particularly for shows that rely on facial connection rather than spectacle.
Rear Circle Standing: Cheapest tickets at most shows. Mixed reviews. Some fans say the venue is small enough that even back-of-balcony standing gives you a viable view; others describe it as too far to feel connected. The rake helps: you're elevated enough that seated rows in front of you don't block your view, which is a real advantage versus stalls standing where row-of-tall-people in front of you can wreck the experience.
The 40-step climb: Getting to the Circle requires at least 39 steps from the auditorium entrance to the rear, and 52 steps to Front Circle Row F (per the venue's official Access Requirements PDF, 2026). There is no lift. If you have any mobility limitation, the Circle is not an option, and the venue does not provide an alternative route. Pace yourself and don't bring a full pint up the final stretch.
Boxes
Original 1932 cinema boxes remain along the side walls and are used at some shows with limited and angled views of the stage. Availability varies by promoter. Treat them as a curiosity rather than a primary choice for a music show.
Accessibility Seating
Two wheelchair-accessible platforms in the rear corners of the stalls, each taking 8 wheelchair users plus 8 companions, for a total of 16 access spaces in the venue (per the venue's Access Requirements PDF, 2026). Step-free access from Queen Caroline Street into the stalls and to the foyer bars.
The catch: the platforms are at the rear of the stalls, behind the standing or seated audience. When the crowd in front stands (which they will at most concerts), the platform elevation is not high enough to clear over heads consistently. Fans with experience here flag this as a known limitation (per Euan's Guide review, 2024).
The Circle is not accessible at all (no lift, 39-plus steps). The venue does not provide an alternative route to the Circle for fans who cannot manage stairs.
Booking is by email only, not online: contact info@eventimapollo.com with the event name, date, your phone number, and access requirements. Fans report response times during high-demand sales can be slow, so book early. The two access platforms book up quickly because there are only 16 spaces total.
Getting There
Tube
Hammersmith Tube is a 2 to 3 minute walk from the venue foyer. The station serves four lines (Piccadilly, District, Hammersmith & City, Circle), making it one of the best-connected stations in west London.
Exit choice matters. Hammersmith station is actually two separate buildings on opposite sides of Hammersmith Broadway. Piccadilly and District line trains arrive at the south-side station, exiting into the Kings Mall shopping centre. You want the Talgarth Road / southern exit, which puts you on the same side of the Broadway as the venue. Hammersmith & City and Circle line trains arrive at the north-side station, which exits onto the north side of the Broadway, and you'll need to cross the Broadway (via the gyratory or the underpass) to reach the venue. If you take the wrong exit, look for the Hammersmith flyover. The Apollo is on the south side of it.
Post-show Tube: Hammersmith handles 50 million-plus passengers a year and absorbs a 5,000-person concert exit fairly well. Trains run frequent service. Last Tube times vary by line, roughly 00:15 to 00:45 from Hammersmith on weeknights and slightly later on weekends. Check tfl.gov.uk before your show. Night Tube does not currently serve Hammersmith.
Buses
Hammersmith Bus Station is at the same interchange, with night buses running long after the Tube closes. Useful night routes: N9 to Aldwych/Strand/Trafalgar Square, N11 to Liverpool Street, N97 to Trafalgar Square, N28 to Camden.
Driving and Parking
Don't drive. The venue has no on-site parking and explicitly tells fans not to drive: "We do not have any parking spaces and customers are advised not to drive and park in the surrounding areas due to it being mostly residential. Theft from cars in the area is high so parking in the vicinity of the venue is not advisable" (per the venue's Getting Here page, April 2026).
If you must drive, prebook a space. The Novotel London West car park (~240 bays, 3 to 5 minutes' walk) charges around £3/hour for non-guests and £1/hour if you're staying at the hotel. The Kings Mall 24-hour car park behind the shopping centre (~176 spaces) is a 5 to 7 minute walk. Prebooking through JustPark or YourParkingSpace is more reliable than improvising on residential streets and avoids the local car-theft risk the venue flags.
Rideshare
Drop-off zone is on Queen Caroline Street directly in front of the foyer (per the venue's Getting Here page). Easy before doors.
Post-show, the Queen Caroline Street zone becomes effectively unusable for the first 15 to 20 minutes because of the crowd flow exiting toward the Tube. Fans recommend walking 5 minutes south of the venue (away from the flyover and the station) for a pickup point with no crowd interference (per TripAdvisor tips, 2023 to 2025). Standard London post-show surge applies, roughly 1.5x to 2x for the first half hour.
Walking
The walk from the foyer to the Tube entrance is line-of-sight: out of the venue, across Queen Caroline Street, under or around the Hammersmith flyover, and you're at the station. Average 2 to 3 minutes. If you're staying in central London and want to walk along the river, the Thames Path runs nearby; allow 30 to 40 minutes to Earl's Court or Putney.
Food, Drink, and Merch
The Strategy
Eat before you go. The Apollo is a theatre, not a multi-restaurant arena, and the inside-the-doors food offer is closer to a cinema than to the O2. Hammersmith Broadway has a dense cluster of restaurants and pubs within 5 minutes' walk. The Hop Poles pub on King Street is a frequently mentioned pre-show spot. Kings Mall has a food court with chain options at normal London prices rather than venue-markup prices.
Drink
Multiple bars across the stalls foyer and circle levels. The foyer bars are the busiest before doors and during intervals; the upstairs circle-level bars are consistently reported as faster-moving and less crowded (per TripAdvisor reviews, 2024). Expect to pay around £7 to £9 for a pint, similar for spirits, which is in line with central London concert venue norms.
Two things to know. The venue is fully cashless: card and contactless only at every bar. And the £1 plastic-cup deposit, which the venue describes as refundable, is not actually returned in practice according to multiple Trustpilot reviews from 2024 to 2025.
Free tap water is available from the bars on request. Sealed plastic bottles are not allowed in; you can refill at the bars.
Merch
The merch stand is in the Ground Floor Foyer immediately inside the entrance. Single point-of-sale for most shows. The queue mixes with the inbound entry flow and the cloakroom queue, which makes it one of the slowest in the building before doors. Buy merch on the way out instead: the post-show queue is shorter, and you don't have to carry a tee through a sweaty standing pit for two hours.
Limited venue-branded merch (Apollo logo tees and similar) appears at some shows but availability is inconsistent. Most merch is tour-specific. No re-entry, so you can't pop out to a pre-show pop-up table on Queen Caroline Street and come back in.
Venue History
The building opened on 28 March 1932 as the Gaumont Palace, designed by Robert Cromie with interiors by Trent and Lewis. It was an Art Deco cinema and variety theatre with a 3,485-seat capacity, a Wurlitzer organ, and one of the largest screens in 1930s London. The Newbury Abbott Trent friezes from this opening are still on the walls today.
The building turned into a concert venue piece by piece through the 1960s. The Beatles' 38-night Christmas residency in December 1964 to January 1965 marked the shift. By the early 1970s it was one of London's most-booked rooms, and on 3 July 1973 David Bowie stood on this stage and retired Ziggy Stardust: "Of all the shows on this tour, this particular show will remain with us the longest, because not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do." The performance was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker and released in 1983 as Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It is the single most culturally referenced night in the building's history.
Other live records that anchor the venue: Kate Bush ended her only major tour (The Tour of Life) with three shows here in May 1979, then chose the same room for her Before the Dawn 22-night residency in 2014, her first live performances in 35 years. Iron Maiden recorded side 4 of Live After Death over four nights here in October 1984. The Motörhead album No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith uses the venue as its aspirational title, even though the album itself was recorded in Newcastle and Leeds. The "Live at Hammersmith" suffix on a vinyl sleeve became its own shorthand for a definitive UK live document through the 1970s and 1980s.
The building has cycled through eight sponsorship names since 1932 (Gaumont Palace, Hammersmith Odeon, Hammersmith Apollo, Labatt's, Carling, HMV, briefly Hammersmith Apollo again, now Eventim Apollo). Older fans and musicians still call it the Hammersmith Odeon. AEG Live and CTS Eventim bought the venue from HMV Group in May 2012 and ran a £5.8 million Foster Wilson refurbishment that reopened it on 7 September 2013, with Selena Gomez on her Stars Dance Tour as the first post-refurb act. The refurb revealed and restored the original terrazzo flooring, the Newbury Abbott Trent friezes, decorative Art Deco glass, two marble staircases, and the original green, silver, and gold colour scheme determined through paint research. The building's Grade II* listing protects the interior, which is why there is no modern HVAC, no lift to the Circle, and no widening of the rows of stalls seats: the heritage protection prevents structural changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This guide is based on fan reports, public records, and community discussion. It is not sponsored by or affiliated with Eventim Apollo.