Hippodrome, London

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The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Leicester Square in London. The name was in fact used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors. The name 'hippodrome' derived from the fact that animal acts were originally part of the show.

The London Hippodrome was built in 1900 by Frank Matcham for Edward Moss as a hippodrome for circus and variety performances, including large water tank for aquatic spectacles. It was reconstructed by Matcham as a music-hall and variety theatre with c. 1340 seats in 1909 and it was here that Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake was first danced in England by the Russian Ballet in 1910.

Its reputation was for revue and musical comedy, among them Mr. Cinders (1929) and Ivor Novello's Perchance to Dream (1938), and from 1949 to 1951 it became the London equivalent of the Folies Bergères. In 1958, the original interior was demolished and the London Hippodrome was converted into the cabaret restaurant, "Talk of the Town" - until this closed in 1982. Renovated yet again, the building was reopened as a nightclub/restaurant called "The London Hippodrome" by nightclub tycoon Peter Stringfellow in 1983. Some years later, Stringfellow sold it to a chain company called European Leisure. Under the stewardship of David Chipping and then Nigel Collinson the club went on to win many BEDA and DI awards, regularly attracting crowds in excess of 2,000. Following its sale to Luminar the club soon went out of fashion and it wasn't until Aprill 2004 that the Hippodrome regained its standing when it was transfomed into "Cirque at the Hippodrome". The interior was taken back to hues of reds and golds and Burlesque was the theme. Cirque at the Hippodrome won the BEDA award for best UK nightclub in 2004.

It was revealed in October 2005 that the club had lost its public drinks licence and would no longer be able to serve alcohol as the local police didn't want what they called 'vertical drinking' in Leicester Square. The police also shut down most of the venues in the local area. Following this, in December 2005, the club was eventually forced to close, following reports of violence involving rival gangs. The Hippodrome is now an Event space for private parties and corporate hire.