London Coliseum

City of Westminster, United Kingdom

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

Wheelchair access: designated
Phone: +44 20 7845 9300

From OpenStreetMap — confirm before travelling

Find out more

Built in 1904 on St Martin's Lane in Westminster, the London Coliseum is a grand theatre designed by architect Frank Matcham for impresario Oswald Stoll. Conceived as a "people's palace of entertainment" and one of London's largest and most luxurious family variety theatres, it opened on 24 December 1904 with 2,359 seats—making it the largest theatre in London. The building was pioneering for its era: among the few European theatres to install passenger lifts for patrons accessing upper levels, and the first in England to feature a triple revolve on its stage. After decades hosting variety shows, musical comedies, and stage plays, followed by Cinerama films from 1963 to 1968, the Sadler's Wells Opera Company relocated here in 1968. The company became the English National Opera in 1974, and today the Grade II* listed Coliseum serves primarily as an opera house and home to the English National Ballet.