The Beatles Story to Quadruple in Size in Move to 1960s Liverpool Shopping Centre

The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool will move from the Royal Albert Dock to a 1969 shopping centre, more than quadrupling its footprint to roughly 9,300 square metres. Apple Corps, the multimedia company founded by the four band members in 1968, announced the relocation and will take over ownership of the attraction from Mersey Ferries.

The new home is bigger in every sense. The majority of the museum will occupy the former St Johns Market inside St Johns Shopping Centre, designed by English architect James A Roberts and built opposite Liverpool Lime Street station in 1969. The expanded space will house immersive exhibition design, original artefacts and reconstructed sets chronicling different eras of The Beatles as they rose to international fame.

The relocation is timed for 2028, aligning with the release of the upcoming The Beatles movie.

What happens to the tower?

The Grade II-listed Radio City Tower, also known as St Johns Beacon, gets its own transformation. The 138-metre structure, formerly a communications tower with a revolving restaurant, will become a Yellow Submarine-themed observation platform with views across the city. It will operate as a standalone attraction complementing the museum.

It's a gentler fate than some past proposals. Previous plans for the tower included a controversial scheme to connect it to the roof of the 19th-century Central Library by a zipwire.

"Liverpool was, and still is, music city, and now we are expanding The Beatles Story Experience in Liverpool – how far out," said Ringo Starr. "The beat goes on."

Paul McCartney pointed to the full-circle quality of the project. "If you'd told us this was going to happen when we were hanging out and getting started, we'd never have believed it," he said. "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," McCartney added.

What does this change for Liverpool?

For the city, the move shifts a major tourist anchor from the dockside to the area around Lime Street station, and it does so with political backing. "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," said UK prime minister Andy Burnham.

"This will be a world-class addition to Liverpool and another showcase for British music and creativity on the international stage," Burnham added.

The Beatles Story first opened on the Royal Albert Dock in 1990. After nearly four decades there, the attraction will anchor a Brutalist-era shopping complex instead — with a movie release and a Yellow Submarine viewing platform riding alongside it in 2028.