Beatles to open London museum at final gig site

LONDON:

The Beatles will open their first official London museum next year inside the historic Mayfair building where they recorded their final album and performed their last live rooftop concert, Paul McCartney announced on Monday.

The new attraction, titled 'The Beatles at 3 Savile Row', will be located in central London's prestigious tailoring district and will span seven floors of previously unseen archive material, immersive exhibits and restored studio spaces linked to the band's final creative years.

The building's basement studio will be recreated to reflect the sessions for the 1970 album 'Let It Be', while visitors will also be able to access the rooftop where the band performed their iconic 1969 live set - widely regarded as their final public performance together.

McCartney said the idea was driven by the lack of public access to key Beatles sites in London, despite global fan interest. "Tourists come to England and they can go to Abbey Road, but they can't go inside," he told the BBC, describing the project as "a terrific idea".

The venue was formerly owned by Apple Corps, the company managing Beatles-related rights since 1968, which also used the Savile Row building as its headquarters during the band's final years and shortly after their 1970 breakup.

Apple Corps chief executive Tom Greene said the project would restore the building as a cultural destination for fans worldwide. He noted that visitors frequently gather outside the site, but will soon be able to explore its interior for the first time.

"The rooftop railings remain exactly as they were on that famous day in 1969," Greene said.

Organisers said visitors would move through the building chronologically, culminating in the rooftop experience where guests can "pretend to be a Beatle".