
Printworks was always intended to be a temporary venue. But when a world-famous London nightlife venue is forced to close down, it’s still a sad day for the city. And that sad day will come very soon, with Printworks to close their doors next week. There are just four more closing season shows on the roster, from April 28 – May 1, and the final event to be hosted at Printworks will be the Brew//LDN beer festival. Printworks will then shut for good, on May 7.
Our Secret London videographer went along to Printworks to get a behind the scenes look at what goes into running events at the storied venue, and catch one of the final performances.
Why is Printworks closing?
The site is being shuttered as the surrounding area undergoes extensive redevelopments. It will instead become home to offices (finally! more office space in London! just what we needed!) and shops as part of a Canada Water-wide redevelopment.
Despite a petition garnering over 11,000 signatories, Southwark Council granted permission for the area redevelopment.

A report from council officers who recommended the redevelopment be given the green light mentioned that “[Printworks] was never intended to be a permanent use of the site.” While the venue’s existence may have always been temporal and in the balance, pending further development of the area, it is nonetheless a crushing blow to the UK’s music and clubbing scene.
Can you catch any of the last shows?
Unfortunately all of the remaining Printworks shows are completely sold out. Your last chance to bid the venue a tearful adieu would be at the Brew//LDN beer festival the following week.
However, the team behind Printworks is not resting on their laurels. They recently opened the massive, immersive art show Thin Air at new venue The Beams. Described by some as being akin to a nightclub venue where they forgot to turn off the lights, it’s an experience that will be visually familiar to Printworks fans.

Additionally, Printworks may not be gone yet. They’re in talks with the developers to return to the site when the redevelopment is completed – currently projected for 2025.
There’s still some hope on the horizon, but for now we bid Printworks a sad farewell. To keep up to date with what’s next for Printworks and the Printworks family, you can sign up for updates at their website.