Jane's Midlife Journey

The O2 Academy Bournemouth is actually in the suburb of Boscombe. This Grade II listed Victorian venue has been entertaining people since 1895. A bit like a cat, it seems to have had nine lives, having served as a theatre, circus, music hall, disco and now mainly as a live music venue.

How to get to O2 Academy Bournemouth

Boscombe is a suburb 2 miles east of Bournemouth. By car, it is along the A35. It is easily reached by bus, with the venue just a few minutes’ walk from Boscombe Bus Station. From Bournemouth, take Bus No 1a/1b/1c, 22, m2 or X3 and alight at Palmerston Road. From here, you can walk through the pedestrian precinct to the venue. The nearest train station is Pokesdown, which is a 15 minute walk away.

Parking

The nearest car park to the venue is the Sovereign Centre; the multi-storey car park adjoining the venue – don’t park here, it closes at 8 pm. There is plenty of parking at Hawkwood Road (walk through Sainsburys, or the alleyway to the side to reach the venue). Parking costs £4.20 for 4 hours. There is some free roadside parking in this area too.

History

The O2 Academy started out as the Grand Pavilion, famed for its circus, with the elephants parading along the high street and even taking a dip in the sea. Then, in 1898, it became The Boscombe Grand Theatre – primarily a music hall. In 1905, it became the Boscombe Hippodrome and then in 1956, the Royal Ballrooms – a dance hall.

In 70s and 80s, it operated mainly as a night club. Plenty of big names performed here during this period. David Bowie for £1 anyone? In 1982, the building underwent a major refurbishment and reopened as The Academy, with the questionable claim to fame of hosting the UK’s first Karaoke bar. In 1997, it became The Opera House, and disco Slinky became one of the UK’s top dance clubs.

After another refurbishment, it reopened in 2007 and became the O2 Academy shortly afterwards, focusing on live music, with Florence and the Machine first up to perform.

Events

The O2 Academy is mainly a music venue, although it does host some other events, such as a Comedy Store, such as bingo and boxing. A list of forthcoming events can be found here.

Over the years it has hosted many top name artists – past performers range from Laurel and Hardy to David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. We went to see the slightly less famous Stiff Little Fingers. Nevertheless, it was a great night in an impressive venue.

The hall has a grand yet informal atmosphere and great acoustics. With a capacity of 1800, unlike a lot of venues I’ve visited, the queues for the bar and toilets were short and drinks were reasonably priced.

In addition, there are plenty of nice places to eat and drink in Boscombe to make a night of it. We had a great meal before the gig at nearby Thai Smile, with one of the support acts sitting at the next table. Drinking beer sitting next to a former Sex Pistol – there’s one to tell the grandchildren! For more information about places to eat and drink nearby, check out my Boscombe blog here.

O2 Academy for Children

Not really a venue for children. Children under 8 are not permitted. Other age limits vary depending on the event; sometimes children aged 8-13 are permitted if accompanied by an adult, but in general it’s either 14+ or 18+.

I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my 101 Things to do in Bournemouth here.

• Updated: October 2024