The fresh iteration of The Beatles Story will combine "immersive" technology and original artifacts to take visitors through the band's journey.
The Beatles Apple Corps Ltd
A new chapter for The Beatles Story is on the horizon. On Tuesday (Oct. 20), Apple Corps unveiled ambitious plans to transform the Liverpool museum into an 100,000-square-foot attraction set to open in 2028, alongside a “Yellow Submarine”-themed viewing experience atop St. John’s Beacon, the city’s second-tallest building.
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The redevelopment will see the long-running, award-winning Beatles attraction relocate from its current home at Albert Dock to the former St Johns Market site in St Johns Shopping Centre, directly opposite Liverpool Lime Street train station, and will more than quadruple its current footprint. Fans can register their interest via the official Beatles website.
Apple Corps, the company founded by The Beatles – Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – in 1968 to oversee their creative and business interests, will take over the running of The Beatles Story at its existing location before moving the attraction to its new home in 2028. It will mark the company’s second permanent Beatles fan experience, following a planned destination at the band’s Savile Row headquarters in London, which is due to open at the end of next year.
In a statement, McCartney said: “I find it incredible and humbling that people are still interested in our story and it’s very exciting to me that The Beatles Story and The Beacon are being transformed in such an exciting way in the heart of Liverpool city.
“I love Liverpool. It’s part of who I am, it’s part of who The Beatles are. If you’d told us this was going to happen when we were hanging out and getting started we’d never have believed it. The extraordinary plans the Apple Corps team have shown me for The Beatles Story take me right back to that journey, from Liverpool to the world and back home again. It couldn’t have happened without Liverpool and I can’t wait for people to be able to step into our story and share the experience.”
Apple Corps’ CEO Tom Greene added: “Liverpool birthed the greatest band in history and today we are announcing a new experience in the city that does justice to that legacy. Just like Graceland or Dollywood, it’s fitting that The Beatles will have a world class destination for fans to visit in the center of the city where the story started. It marks a new chapter in Apple Corps’ history and we can’t wait for people to see what we’ve been working on.”
According to a press release, the fresh iteration of The Beatles Story will combine “immersive” technology and original artifacts to take visitors through the band’s journey, from postwar Liverpool and their formative years playing shows in Hamburg, Germany, to the explosion of Beatlemania and their rise to international superstardom. Fans will be able to step inside recreations of iconic locations, including the Cavern Club, New York’s now-demolished Shea Stadium and Abbey Road Studios.
The new attraction is also set to coincide with the release of The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event, Sam Mendes’ ambitious series of four separate biopics, each from the perspective of a different band member. Sony Pictures is scheduled to release the films in cinemas worldwide in April 2028, while The Beatles Story will incorporate props and sets from the productions.
The aforementioned “Yellow Submarine”-themed viewing experience at St John’s Beacon, meanwhile, will operate independently from The Beatles Story. It is set to offer panoramic, 360-degree views across the city, including landmarks and venues central to the Beatles’ history.
Combined tickets will be available for visitors looking to experience both attractions, with every ticket sold to The Beatles Story contributing to the Apple Corps Liverpool Trust, a charitable initiative established to support emerging Liverpool artists and local cultural projects. Further details about the trust are expected to be announced soon.
The development of the new attractions is being advanced through a partnership involving Apple Corps, Liverpool City Council and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, with support from the U.K. government.
Starr said: “Liverpool was, and still is, a music city. And now we are expanding the The Beatles Story Experience in Liverpool. The beat goes on. I also love that proceeds from every ticket will go back to support new Liverpool artists. It is great to be part of this – deep down I am still a Scouser – I love what Apple (Corps) and Liverpool are doing. Peace and love, Ringo.”
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham concurred: “The Beatles are one of the greatest examples of what Britain can give to the world. Four young men from Liverpool changed music and popular culture forever – and, more than sixty years later, their story is still a source of enormous pride for this city and for our whole country.
“This is the kind of ambition I want to see more of across Britain: backing the things our great cities do best and turning that global reputation into jobs, opportunity and growth. This will be a world-class addition to Liverpool and another showcase for British music and creativity on the international stage.
“But the best legacy we can give The Beatles is to make sure theirs isn’t the last great British success story to begin this way. Talent exists in every part of our country; opportunity still doesn’t. I want the next generation of young artists, wherever they grow up, to believe there is a route from their bedroom, rehearsal room or local venue to the very top of the world. The fact that this project will help open those doors makes it even more special.”
The Beatles’ Billboard chart legacy remains unmatched, with the Fab Four holding the record for the most No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 by any act, with 20 chart-toppers. Their studio albums, meanwhile, have spent a record 132 cumulative weeks at No. 1. on the Billboard 200.