Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash
Ironworks: new 7,000-capacity warehouse venue opening in London this October
Ironworks is the new 7,000-capacity warehouse venue coming to London. The multi-purpose space sits on the site of a former shipbuilding yard in the Royal Docks of East London. The venue opens to the public in October 2026. An electronic music programme is baked into its identity from the start.
The space spans 78,000 square feet indoors. Plus, an 80,000 square foot open-air riverside terrace runs alongside the main warehouse. It sits inside a wider Thames Wharf site that will also host markets, wellness sessions, outdoor cinema screenings and street food traders.
Ironworks was conceived by LWE in partnership with cultural placemaking organisation PROJEKT. LWE is the team behind some of London’s biggest dance music destinations, including Printworks, Tobacco Dock and Turnmills.
From October to the end of the year, the space will host six shows from what the team calls “some of electronic music’s most in-demand artists”. Lineup details remain under wraps for now. The opening run will position Ironworks as one of the major large-capacity warehouse spaces filling the gap left by Printworks.
Beyond the music programme, the Museum of Youth Culture will present a visual installation. The piece will explore the history of warehouse culture in London. The cultural framing fits the moment. Large-scale warehouse venues have multiplied across the UK in recent months. ULTRA opened in Derby with a 3,500 capacity. The 4,000-capacity Eutopia Warehouse opened in East London. Plus, a new 2,300-capacity club is due on the site of former East London venue The Rex next year.
The scale-up sits in contrast to the wider grassroots situation. 53 per cent of UK grassroots music venues made no profit in 2025, according to the Music Venue Trust’s annual report. Now, the Ironworks opening is good news for top-tier London infrastructure. The bottom of the pyramid still hurts.
