Following reports of an approaching closure back in September, Printworks London hosted an array of performances for what many believed to be its final week, building up to a May 1 closing night party.
However, the venue has now announced that it will in fact re-open its doors again in 2026.
Broadwick Live, which has run the venue for the past six years, says it will continue to work with the building’s owners British Land, and will launch Printworks 2.0 subject to planning permission.
The music and events space went out with a bang on May 1, with several days’ worth of performances closing out the last few nights at the 6,000-capacity venue in Surrey Quays.
Having first opened its doors to the public back in 2017, the space used to be the Evening Standard’s former printing plant.
It has hosted over 3,000 artists since then, including some of the biggest names in London’s scene.
Here’s what you need to know about the closure.
Why is Printworks closing?
As confirmed last September, Printworks closed down due to redevelopment in its Surrey Quays home.
Southwark Council green-lit a regenerative project for the areas, with plans to turn the venue into offices.
Despite a petition that garnered 10,000 votes, the project is going ahead as part of an enormous redevelopment across Canada Water.
While the council acknowledged the value and success of Printworks, it implied that the use of the space was only ever intended to be temporary.
Printworks owner Broadwick Live still has two other London-based venues, Dockywards and the Beams. Both will continue events while Printworks is closed.
The venue issued a statement on their event page: “After six incredible years at our beloved venue, we’re pleased to finally announce the line-ups for our closing weekend of shows,”
“To mark the end of the space as we know it, the final Printworks Closing Weekend shows represent our history joining the dots from techno to melodic house, and disco to bass for our final weekend.”
Will Printworks ever re-open?
The iconic London venue has revealed it is set to return to the same site in 2026.
It hopes to retain much of the original architecture and essence of the Press Halls.
Southwark Council previously approved plans to build 200,000 square metres of workspace on the industrial site which means it will close for several years.
Night Czar Amy Lamé, said she was delighted the venue would return, adding: “Printworks has played a dynamic role bringing together culture, music and entertainment and attracting artists and visitors from all over the world.”
Broadwick Live’s director of entertainment Matthew Johnson previously hinted at a potential return of the venue, as the events company continued talks about the future of the space with owners British Land.
The venue started hosting events back in 2017 and quickly became a hugely popular space in London, regularly featuring in Top 100 club rankings annually since.
