Athena is a

Grade II-listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

events venue in the cultural quarter of

Leicester City Centre Leicester City Centre is Leicester's historical commercial, cultural and transport hub and is home to its central business district. Its inner core is roughly delineated by the A594, Leicester's inner ring road, although the various central c ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Built originally as an

Odeon Cinema Odeon, stylised as ODEON, is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres. It uses the famous name ...

in 1936, it closed for most of the 1990s and remained vacant up until 2005, where the building was restored as a multi-discipline events venue.

History

The building was originally designed and built in 1936 in the

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

style by Robert Arthur Bullivant, and operated as an Odeon Cinema. When it was first opened, the Odeon was one of the most extravagant and largest buildings in the region, with one screen and seating 2,182 guests. The terracotta panels, which feature mermaids, were hand-moulded by William Neatby at the

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

premises of Doulton and Co. The cinema was opened on 28th July 1938 with a screening of ''

A Slight Case of Murder ''A Slight Case of Murder'' is a 1938 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film is based on the 1935 play by Damon Runyon and Howard Lindsay. The offbeat comedy stars Edward G. Robinson spoofing his own gangster image as Remy Marco. ...

''. Seating was provided for 1,307 in the stalls and 875 in the upper circle. In 1974 it became a three screen cinema when the original auditorium was subdivided. The main Screen 1, located in the circle and front stalls, became a 1,237 seat screen, allowing for two smaller screens, 2 and 3, underneath the circle of the rear stalls which seated 123 and 111. In 1988 a fourth screen was added by converting the remaining front stalls into a 401 seat screen. The original Odeon closed on 16th July 1997 when the twelve screen Odeon multiplex opened at Freemans Park. The building has been

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

since August 1997, giving it protection from unauthorised modification or demolition. The building has been restored and converted into a venue for corporate and social events.

Today

Leicester band Kasabian headline concert at Athena

Since re-opening in 2005, Athena has been host to artists including

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. He was runner-up on the sixth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2009 and was subsequently signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom, ...

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karlof ...

Oliver Mtukudzi Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi (22 September 1952 – 23 January 2019) was a Zimbabwean musician, businessman, philanthropist, human rights activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Southern Africa Region. Career Mtukudzi grew up in Highfield, a ...

, ''

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' Live shows,

Roy Chubby Brown Roy Chubby Brown (born 3 February 1945) is an English stand-up comedian whose act consists of offensive humour, high profanity, forthright social commentary and outspoken disdain for political correctness. Early life Roy Chubby Brown (bor ...

and

Jim Davidson James Cameron Davidson (born 13 December 1953) is an English stand-up comedian, actor, singer and TV presenter. He hosted the television shows '' Big Break'' and ''The Generation Game''. He also developed two adult pantomime shows such as ''B ...

Awards

In 2017, Athena received a Silver award at the Awards Awards in the category for Best Awards Venue, and in the same year, was a finalist at The Drum UK Event Awards. In 2018 it picked up two awards at the National Venue Awards, receiving another Silver award for Best Awards Ceremony Venue and being named winner of the Best Event Venue for 500–1000 Guests category.

References

External links

Athena Official Site
{{coord, 52, 38, 7.0, N, 1, 7, 37.3, W, display=title, region:GB_type:landmark Leicester Buildings and structures in Leicester Culture in Leicestershire Streamline Moderne architecture in the United Kingdom Art Deco architecture in England Grade II listed buildings in Leicestershire