The Beatles Announce Huge New Liverpool Experience For 2028
The Beatles Story is moving to a new home in Liverpool, with Apple Corps announcing plans for a 100,000-square-foot attraction at the former St Johns Market. Due to open in 2028, the new site will be more than four times the size of the existing museum at the Royal Albert Dock, while St Johns Beacon will become a separate ‘Yellow Submarine’-themed viewing experience.
The announcement follows confirmation that ‘The Beatles at 3 Savile Row’ will open in London next year. With last year’s return of ‘Anthology’ and Sam Mendes’ four forthcoming biopics, there is plenty happening for a band who went their separate ways more than half a century ago.
A New Home In Liverpool
Apple Corps will take over the running of The Beatles Story at its current Albert Dock location in 2027, before moving it to St Johns the following year. The development will become the first official Liverpool fan experience operated by the company The Beatles founded in 1968. Its position opposite Lime Street station will put it within easy reach of visitors arriving in the city.
Inside, the attraction will follow John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr from their childhoods in post-war Liverpool through the clubs of Hamburg, the arrival of Beatlemania and their years as the biggest band in the world. Original artefacts, immersive technology and reconstructed settings will form part of a visit intended to last several hours.
The Cavern Club, Abbey Road Studios and Shea Stadium are among the locations being recreated, with sets and props from Mendes’ films being incorporated into the experience. Those settings cover an extraordinary amount of change in a remarkably short period: the Liverpool clubs, the screaming crowds in America and the studios where the band began making music they could never have performed on stage.
There is a lot to explore between those familiar landmarks. Hamburg helped turn The Beatles into a formidable live band, while their work with George Martin took them from the directness of ‘Please Please Me’ to the experimentation of ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ in little more than three years. Giving that development room to unfold could be one of the most interesting parts of the new attraction. The records are so familiar that it is easy to forget how quickly they were moving.
‘Yellow Submarine’ Above The City
St Johns Beacon will house its own ‘Yellow Submarine’-themed experience, with panoramic views across Liverpool. Visitors will be able to book it separately or buy a combined ticket covering both the tower and The Beatles Story.
It is an imaginative use of one of Liverpool’s most recognisable buildings. The colourful world of ‘Yellow Submarine’ gives the designers plenty to draw upon, and the views will allow visitors to see the city surrounding the places they have just been learning about.
Paul McCartney has welcomed the plans, saying: “I love Liverpool. It’s part of who I am, it’s part of who the Beatles are.” Ringo Starr has also backed the project. Their connection to the city remained obvious throughout their careers, in their humour, their interviews and the places that kept finding their way into the songs.
Every ticket sold for The Beatles Story will contribute to the new Apple Corps Liverpool Trust, which will support emerging Liverpool artists and local cultural projects. Further details of the charity are still to come, but it is a welcome part of the announcement. The interest in Liverpool’s most famous band will help provide opportunities for people making music and art in the city today.
Savile Row Opens Next Year
Before Liverpool opens, fans will be able to visit The Beatles’ former headquarters at 3 Savile Row. The London attraction is due to open in 2027, allowing visitors inside the building where the band worked on ‘Let It Be’ and played their final public performance on 30 January 1969.
Across seven floors, the experience will include material from the Apple Corps archives, changing exhibitions and a recreation of the basement recording studio. The rooftop will be the biggest draw for many, offering the chance to stand where The Beatles played together above an unsuspecting London street.
Peter Jackson’s ‘Get Back’ gave that performance a renewed significance. After hours spent watching rehearsals, conversations, disagreements and songs gradually taking shape, seeing the band step onto the roof remains a wonderful payoff. Lennon and McCartney exchanging glances, Harrison getting on with it and Ringo playing in the January cold tell you plenty about their understanding of one another. Visiting the place where it happened is an appealing prospect.
From ‘Anthology’ To Four New Films
The two attractions follow the expanded re-release of ‘The Beatles Anthology’ last year. Restored for its 30th anniversary, the documentary returned with a ninth episode featuring previously unseen footage of McCartney, Harrison and Starr together during the making of the original project in the 1990s.
Having never watched the original series, I came to it with a fresh perspective. What stayed with me was how funny all four of them were, and how casually they could discuss events that had become part of music history. George and Ringo forgetting that they had played Shea Stadium twice was a particular highlight. Alongside the achievements, there were old frustrations, friendships and memories that had survived everything that happened afterwards.
Sam Mendes will tell the story through four interconnected biopics, each approaching it from the perspective of a different member. Scheduled for April 2028, the films will star Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Paul Mescal as Paul McCartney, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
Four films is an ambitious undertaking, although The Beatles’ story certainly has enough in it. The individual perspectives should give Harrison and Starr more space, while allowing the same events to be seen through different relationships and experiences. ‘Anthology’ demonstrated how differently the members sometimes remembered their years together, which could make that approach particularly interesting.
The use of the films’ sets and props in Liverpool will give parts of that production a lasting home. For visitors discovering the band through the cinema, the attraction will offer somewhere to follow that interest further, in the city where the story began.
Opening And Ticket Information
The new Liverpool experience is scheduled to open in 2028, with an exact opening date and ticket prices still to be announced. Fans can register through The Beatles’ official website for updates and notification when tickets go on sale.
Savile Row was already somewhere I wanted to visit, and the Liverpool plans have added another trip to the list. After watching ‘Anthology’, I was reminded how absorbing it is to follow those four lives from the early clubs to the final records. Being able to explore more of that history in Liverpool, with the space to do it properly, is something I’m looking forward to.