East Bank in Stratford: two free V&A museums, a theatre and BBC studios

East Bank, in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, is now largely complete — a cultural quarter City Hall calls the UK's newest. Both V&A museums there are free, Sadler's Wells East has been open since February 2025, and the BBC studios will be the last to arrive.

What is East Bank and where is it?

It is a cluster of buildings in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the 2012 Olympic site in east London. City Hall puts the vision at £1.1bn, with more than £600m from the Mayor of London and an estimated £1.5bn for the local economy. The quarter holds a museum, a theatre, BBC studios, a university campus and a fashion college.

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What has opened, and when?

The UCL East and London College of Fashion (University of the Arts London) campuses took students from autumn 2023. V&A East Storehouse, the open collection store, opened in May 2025, with the David Bowie Centre inside it from September 2025. Sadler's Wells East was officially opened on 6 February 2025. V&A East Museum opened on 18 April 2026. BBC Music Studios are due in late 2026 or early 2027.

How much does it cost to get into the V&A East sites?

Entry to both V&A East Storehouse and V&A East Museum is free. Some exhibitions and events inside carry a separate charge. The museum has two free permanent galleries, Why We Make.

Opening hours are the same at both: daily 10:00–18:00, until 22:00 on Thursdays and Saturdays. The Storehouse closes 24–26 December. There can be a queue at the museum at busy times.

What are the addresses?

V&A East Storehouse: Parkes Street, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, London E20 3AX. V&A East Museum: East Bank, 107 Carpenters Rd, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London E20 2AR.

What is inside each building?

The Storehouse is a working store opened to the public: 250,000 objects, 350,000 books and 1,000 archives, with behind-the-scenes access. The museum shows over 500 objects from the V&A collections, with eight art commissions rotating every six months; the opening exhibition is The Music Is Black: A British Story, on Black British music from 1900 to the present.

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Sadler's Wells East has a 550-seat auditorium, six dance studios and The Dance Floor, a public space for free performances. It also houses the Rose Choreographic School and Academy Breakin' Convention, a hip hop theatre school for 16 to 19-year-olds.

BBC Music Studios will be the home of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Chorus and the BBC Singers, with rock and pop recording facilities, and will be open to the public for performances. London College of Fashion is built for 6,500 students and staff, with public galleries, a library and archives.

Is it worth a trip with children, and what does it do for the area?

Free entry to both museums and free shows on The Dance Floor make the quarter a cheap day out. More than 10,000 students have passed through the East Bank campuses, and City Hall says the Shared Training and Employment Programme has matched 89 young east Londoners with entry-level creative industry roles.