London’s Oval Space has relaunched as Oval Studios after 2022 closure

Oval Space, the recently closed venue in East London, has reopened as Oval Studios following the revocation of its licence last year due to a shooting incident.

The new 900-capacity space is described as "London's most versatile warehouse", and features a multi-purpose, blank canvas venue with 400 square metres of flexible indoor and outdoor space, and is licensed for events between 6am and midnight.

New operators Spaces & Stories, who are also involved in 20 London event spaces such as the 20,000 capacity Dockyards and the 300 capacity Thirty Eight Grosvenor Square, are behind the relaunch of Oval Studios.

The licence revocation came after an alleged shooting at the venue in September 2022. In response, Tower Hamlets Council released a statement saying, “In the opinion of a senior police officer of the Metropolitan Police the above premises are associated with serious crime and disorder or both and concerns in relation to public safety and prevention of public nuisance. Lack of management of the premises and lack of adequate searching leading to serious incident to take place.”

Oval Space took to Instagram to encourage people to send letters of support to Tower Hamlets in order to save the venue, highlighting the importance of cultural spaces in major cities, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful and the venue was closed in October.