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Brighton Centre

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Coordinates: 50°49′16″N 0°08′46″W / 50.82111°N 0.14611°W / 50.82111; -0.14611
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This article is about the arena in England. For the town centre in Massachusetts, see Brighton Center Historic District. For the school district, see Brighton Central School District.

Brighton Centre
The Brighton Centre in April 2013
Map
AddressKings Rd, Brighton. BN1 2GR
LocationBrighton, East Sussex, England
Coordinates50°49′16″N 0°08′46″W / 50.82111°N 0.14611°W / 50.82111; -0.14611
OwnerBrighton & Hove City Council[1]
OperatorBrighton & Hove City Council[1]
Capacity4,270 (seated), 5,515 (standing) [2]
Construction
Opened19 September 1977
RenovatedJanuary 2012
ArchitectRussell Diplock & Associates
Website
www.brightoncentre.co.uk

Brighton Centre is a conference and exhibition centre located in Brighton, England. It is the largest of its kind in southern England,[3] and is regularly used for conferences of the UK political parties and other bodies of national importance. The venue has the capacity to accommodate up to 5,000 delegates,[3] although rooms in the building can be used for weddings and banquets.[4]

It has also been used as a live music venue since it was opened by James Callaghan on 19 September 1977.[5] It was designed in a Brutalist style by architects Russell Diplock & Associates, who made extensive use of textured concrete.[6] The venue is situated in the centre of Brighton on the sea front and is within 200 metres of major hotels. In 2004, it was estimated that the centre generated £50 million in revenue for Brighton.[7]

History

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Bing Crosby's final performance was at Brighton Centre on 10 October 1977. He died of a heart attack four days later, while at a golf tournament in Spain.[8]

The Jacksons performed on 10 February 1979 as part of their Destiny World Tour.[9]

The Who performed on 10 and 11 November 1979 as part of their Who Are You Tour, and returned as part of their Face Dances Tour in 1981, and in 2006 as part of their Endless Wire Tour.[10]

Queen performed on 10 and 11 December 1979 as part of their Crazy Tour.[11]

Bob Marley and The Wailers performed on 8 and 9 July 1980 as part of their Uprising Tour.[12]

Between 1978 and 1995 it was the venue for the Brighton International tennis tournament, an annual event on the WTA Tour. Champions of the event included Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf.

From 29 to 30 November 1983, pop duo Wham! performed their final dates on their debut UK tour, titled Club Fantastic Tour.

On 11 December 1982, The Jam played their last gig in the Conference Room at Brighton Centre.

From 9–15 September 1989, the Liberal Democrats held their first Liberal Democrat Conference at Brighton Centre, after the party's formation in the previous year.[13]

In 1991 and 1992, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) came to the venue as part of their 'World' and 'European Rampage Again' Tours. The promotion would return to the venue (as WWE) numerous times in the 2010s.[14]

In 2003 and 2004, Brighton Centre hosted the 2003 and 2004 British Open snooker, from 8–16 November.

On 17 December 2006 comedy rock duo Tenacious D performed as part of their Pick of Destiny Tour, Neil Hamburger was the opening act.[15] On 13 May 2024 they returned as part of their Spicy Meatball Tour opened by Dave Hill.[16]

Renovations

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In March 2003, there were proposals to demolish the centre at the end of 2005, and replace it with a new exhibition and conference centre by 2008.[17] The centre was given a £1 million renovation in 2012.[18] In November 2014, demolition proposals were made again, but these were to demolish the centre to extend the Churchill Square shopping centre, and then build a new 10,000 capacity exhibition and conference centre on derelict land near the Brighton Marina.[19] In November 2019, these plans were revisited.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Our Commitment". Brighton Centre. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Access Statement Sept 2017". Brighton Centre. 30 November 2022.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ a b "Facelift for Brighton Centre". The Argus. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  4. ^ "The Brighton Centre". TheatresOnline. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Seafront venue marks anniversary". BBC News. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  6. ^ Antram, Nicholas; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2013). Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove. The Buildings of England. London: Yale University Press. p. 215. ISBN 978-0-300-18473-0.
  7. ^ "A new future for the Brighton Centre" (Press release). Brighton & Hove City Council. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007.
  8. ^ Plaques, Open. "Bing Crosby brass plaque". openplaques.org. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  9. ^ Colby, Fred (23 September 2018). "MJ on stage : Destiny/The Wiz era (1978-1979)". Jackson Dynasty. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  10. ^ "The Who live in Concert 1962 - 2024 - The Who Concert Guide". www.thewholive.net. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Queen on tour: Crazy tour 1979 [QueenConcerts]". www.queenconcerts.com. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Uprising Tour, 1980". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  13. ^ Mortimore, Roger; Blick, Andrew, eds. (31 August 2018). Butler's British Political Facts (1 ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 274–275. ISBN 978-1137567086.
  14. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Tenacious D, Brighton Centre, Brighton". The Argus. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Jack Black and Kyle Gass (aka Tenacious D) – Brighton Centre concert report". Brighton and Hove News. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Brighton Centre to be bulldozed". The Argus. 25 March 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Brighton Centre claims £1m refurb pays off with new events". EN. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  19. ^ "£450m seafront plan will extend Churchill Square, demolish the Brighton Centre and build at Black Rock". Brighton and Hove News. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  20. ^ "New 10,000 seat venue could replace existing Brighton Centre". The Argus. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
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