Housed in a flamboyant former Odeon cinema, Athena is a multi-discipline events venue in the Cultural Quarter of Leicester, standing on the corner of Queen Street and Rutland Street. The building was designed in the Streamline Moderne style by Robert Arthur Bullivant for Oscar Deutsch's Odeon Theatres and opened on 28 July 1938 with a screening of A Slight Case of Murder, originally seating more than 2,100 patrons across its stalls and circle. Its terracotta facade, hand-moulded at the Doulton works in Lambeth and decorated with mermaid motifs, has long been one of the area's most recognisable frontages. Like many large single-screen picture houses, it was subdivided as television ate into audiences. The auditorium was split into three screens in 1974 and a fourth was added in 1988, before the cinema closed on 16 July 1997 when a twelve-screen multiplex opened on the edge of the city. The building was awarded Grade II listed status in 1997, protecting it from unauthorised alteration or demolition, and then stood largely unused until it was restored and reopened in 2005 as a dedicated events venue. The conversion kept the auditorium's art deco character and its noted acoustic insulation while fitting modern staging, lighting, and audio-visual technology. The principal Cinema Suite is a tiered hall with a large stage, dancefloor, full lighting rig, sound system, and a sizeable cinema screen; it seats around 1,000 for a banquet or theatre layout and holds well over 1,300 standing. Further spaces include the second-floor Gallery balcony, which overlooks the stage and can be used to add capacity, along with the Deco Lounge and the smaller City View Lounge. Athena is among the largest and most flexible event spaces in the Midlands, hosting award ceremonies, gala dinners, conferences, exhibitions, weddings, festivals, and live concerts, supported by an in-house catering team. The wider Cultural Quarter, with its mix of creative businesses and the nearby Curve theatre, was developed around the building, leaving Athena as a centrepiece within easy reach of the city's road and rail connections. When the Odeon first opened it was promoted as one of the largest and most extravagant buildings in the region, and the final films screened before it closed in July 1997 included Batman and Robin and The Fifth Element. Athena's in-house catering has become part of its reputation, with its kitchen team regularly praised at the awards dinners, weddings, and gala evenings the building hosts.

Type: Indoor Event Space

Address: Queen Street, Leicester, United Kingdom

Website: https://www.athenacb.co.uk

Capacity: 1300

Opening Date: 28/07/1938