Vast Beatles museum to open in Liverpool in 2028
A Beatles museum four times the size of the current one will open in 2028 in Liverpool's former St John's Market shopping centre. The project is led by the band's company Apple Corps and has been praised by Paul McCartney.
A new 100,000 sq ft visitor attraction devoted to the Beatles, the British rock band from Liverpool, is due to open in the English city in 2028. The existing museum, the Beatles Story, will pass into the ownership of the band's company Apple Corps, becoming the group's first official fan experience in their home city.
The museum opened in 1990 at Royal Albert Dock. It will move to the former St John's Market shopping centre, near Lime Street railway station, which has been unused since 2024. The new site will make it four times bigger than at present.
The tower and the themed experience
Apple Corps will also take over and renovate Liverpool's second-tallest building, the 450ft St Johns Beacon tower, which has likewise stood unused since 2024. Next to the redeveloped museum, it will become a separate attraction themed around the Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine.
The new museum is billed as a multi-hour experience recreating settings from the band's history: their childhood homes in Liverpool, the Cavern club, the Hamburg nightclubs, Abbey Road, New York's Shea Stadium, and the building on London's Savile Row where they gave their final rooftop concert in 1969.
Paul McCartney said he found it incredible and humbling that people remain interested in the band's story. Ringo Starr said that deep down he is still a scouser.
A new charity, the Apple Corps Liverpool Trust, has been set up. A portion of every ticket sold will fund initiatives for local musicians. Apple Corps is leading the project with Liverpool city council and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, with UK government support. Financial details have not been disclosed.
Wider context
Apple Corps chief executive Tom Greene compared the plans with Elvis Presley's Graceland in Memphis and Dolly Parton's Dollywood in Tennessee. He is also overseeing the renovation of 3 Savile Row into a seven-floor museum due to open in 2027.
Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram noted that people already travel across the globe to visit the band's birthplace. A 2016 study suggested the Beatles add £82m to the local economy each year.
