One of Belfast’s landmark live venues is to re-open later this month, following an extensive refurbishment.
The city centre Spring And Airbrake, part of the historic Limelight complex on the city’s Ormeau Avenue is scheduled to re-open as a new multi-purpose venue, renamed The Limelight. Featuring brand new state-of-the-art audio and lighting systems, the venue’ s capacity is understood to have been nearly doubled in size, while an irksome pillar – which previously stood right in front of the stage – has been removed to help improve sight lines.
This is the first phase of a multi-million pound renovation for this renowned complex of venues, which was bought over last year by Shine Promotions (who also own the nearby Stiff Kitten night club), after previous owners CDC Leisure went into receivership.
The adjoining Limelight will now be known as The Limelight 2 and the smallest venue, Katy Daly’s, will be rebranded simply as Katy’s Bar: both these venues also will get facelifts in the near future, while an all new purpose-built outdoor space, christened ‘The Rock Garden’, is also in the pipeline, and is set to open later this year.
Co-Owner Phil Donaldson, Director of The Limelight Belfast Ltd., commented: “This represents just the beginning of what promises to be a very exciting period for The Limelight. Extensive re-development is planned over the next 18 months, which will be entirely focused on delivering a world class customer experience at our bars, live events and club nights.”
Among acts scheduled to play the Limelight complex in the coming months are Firewind, Sabaton, Anthrax, Little Angels, Y&T, Duff McKagan and Ugly Kid Joe.
