Pub operator JD Wetherspoon is to open its new pub at London Waterloo Station on Tuesday, 3 September.
The company has spent £2.8 million developing the pub, The Lion & the Unicorn, in ‘The Sidings’, within the former Eurostar terminus.
Seventy new jobs are being created at the pub.
The new pub will specialise in real ales and traditional ciders, as well as craft and world beers, serving a wide range of different draught ales, as well as bottled beers, including those from local and regional brewers.
The new pub interior design is inspired by the historic architecture that once made The Lion and The Unicorn Pavilion a fan favourite at the Festival of Britain.
The attitude to light, colour and innovation at the festival (the complete opposite to pre-1951 Britain) have all been adopted in the design.
Family members of the 1951 pavilion architects and festival graphic designers have also shared original drawings and sketches, which have been incorporated into the new pub design.
Historical photos and details of local history, as well as artwork and images of local scenes and characters of the area, are also displayed in the pub, some following collaborations with local artists, as well as the Southbank Centre, with other connections to the key figures which once brought the 1951 festival to life.
The Royal Festival Hall is the only building remaining from the Festival of Britain, held from May to September 1951, on the South Bank.
Wetherspoon regional manager, Barry Brewster, said:
“We are looking forward to welcoming customers into The Lion & the Unicorn and we are confident that the pub will be a great addition to Waterloo’s social scene.”
