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The Europa Hotel is a four-star hotel in
documentary series ''Lobby Lives'' were filmed at the hotel.
*The
filmed a further six part documentary series titled ''The Hotel People'', broadcast nationally on BBC Two from 22nd August 2022. The series was filmed in 2021 as the hotel emerged from the UK wide lockdowns and
The Europa Hotel is a four-star hotel in Great Victoria Street, Belfast
Great Victoria Street in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a major thoroughfare located in the city centre and is one of the important streets used by pedestrians alighting from Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station and walking into shopping s ...
, Northern Ireland.
It is known as the "most bombed hotel in Europe" and the "most bombed hotel in the world" after having suffered 36 bomb attacks during the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
.
History
The Europa Hotel was constructed byGrand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan plc was a leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate headquartered in England. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it merged with Guinness plc to for ...
and designed by architects Sydney Kaye, Eric Firkin & Partners. It opened in July 1971. It was built on the site of the former Great Northern Railway station and stands 51 metres high. During The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
, the hotel, where most journalists covering the Troubles stayed, was known as Europe’s most bombed hotel, earning the name "the Hardboard Hotel". Grand Met bought the Inter-Continental Hotels chain in 1981 and placed the Europa in their Forum hotels division. They renamed the hotel the Forum Hotel Belfast in February 1983. When the hotel was sold to The Emerald Group in October 1986, it regained its original name. After a bomb placed by the Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
at the hotel badly damaged the building, it was sold for £4.4M.
The Europa Hotel became part of the Hastings Hotels group on 3 August 1993, whereupon it was announced that it would close for refurbishments. Following an £8m investment, the hotel reopened in February 1994. Its first event after reopening was the Flax Trust Ball, attended by 500 local and international dignitaries. US President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
stayed in the hotel in November 1995; the suite used by the Clintons was subsequently renamed the Clinton Suite. The presidential entourage booked 110 rooms at the hotel. The Clintons stayed at the hotel several times in the years following their first visit. They wrote to the staff in 2002 in order to congratulate them on their work at the hotel.
In early 2008, an extension to the hotel increased the height of a rear wing to twelve floors and increased bedrooms from 240 to 272. The extension was designed by Robinson Patterson Partnership, now RPP Architects and was completed late in 2008.
In popular culture
Documentaries
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...Covid-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
restrictions.
*''The Europa Hotel – Bombs, Bullets and Business as Usual'' (26 September 2011) is an hour-long documentary aired on BBC One Northern Ireland
BBC One Northern Ireland is a Northern Irish television channel based on the UK-wide BBC One, owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland. The service is broadcast from Broadcasting House in Belfast. In the rest of the UK, BBC One Northern Irela ...
. Produced and directed by Richard Weller, the documentary tracked those eventful 40 years through the eyes of a diverse array of contributors.
* In the BBC TV programme ''Great British Railway Journeys'' (Series 3, Episode 24), Michael Portillo visited the hotel and stayed in the room occupied by US President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...
in 1995.
*In the 60 Minutes Australian TV program, Special Investigation: Spies, Lords and Predators.
' Produced by Stephen Rice and reported on by Ross Coulthart, th''e'' hotel is featured as a known hub for serial predatory abusers who would meet at the hotel’s bar, Whip and Saddle, during the 1970s - the actual sexual abuse inflicted on victims by many prominent and powerful men in various hotel rooms.
Events
PWU (Pro Wrestling Ulster) shows are held within the Europa Hotel (2007–present). Uprising Wrestling shows are held within the Europa hotel (2016–present)Television
*In ''Sons of Anarchy'', season 3, episode 11 ("Bainne"), the couple who adopted Abel stays at and is assassinated at the Europa Hotel, Belfast.See also
*Europa Buscentre
Great Victoria Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is one of two major stations in the city, along with , and is one of the four stations located in the city centre, the others being Lanyon Place ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em Hotels in Belfast Hotels established in 1971 Hotel buildings completed in 1971