Bridgewater Hall

The Bridgewater Hall is a concert venue on Lower Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. It held its first concert on 11 September 1996 and was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 4 December that year. It is home to the Hallé Orchestra, the Hallé Choir and the Hallé Youth Orchestra, serves as the main concert venue for the BBC Philharmonic, and hosts over 250 performances a year. The auditorium seats 2,341 people over four tiers (stalls, choir circle, circle and gallery) and rests on 280 steel-spring isolation bearings that insulate it from noise and vibration from the adjacent road and Metrolink line, while a 5,500-pipe organ built by Marcussen & Son dominates its rear wall. Beyond its resident orchestras, the hall also takes touring bills from acts such as Marillion, Steve Hackett and Del Amitri.