An aerial view of Stratford East.
Discover East Bank
East Bank London is set to become the new cultural heart of London, bringing some big names to the waterfront of Stratford London.

The East Bank development will welcome organisations such as BBC Music, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London College of Fashion and the V&A museum, bringing an estimated 1.5 million visitors to the area and more than 2,500 jobs.

As more and more announcements are made about the organisations who will call East Bank London their new home, we’ve rounded up the names who have confirmed their arrival here to explain a little more about what they’ll be bringing to the area.

So when is East Bank, London opening? UCL East will open the first new campus building in the autumn of 2022 with a second building opening the following autumn. UAL London College of Fashion will be joining UCL in the Park in 2023, followed by Sadler’s Wells East, the new BBC studios and the V&A East Storehouse and East Museum across 2025.

University College London Image

University College London

The East Bank development will also welcome a brand-new University College London campus to the area. The new campus will combine eight UCL faculties, comprised of around 4,000 students and 260 staff members. As well as this, the ground and first floor of each building will be designed to encourage members of the public to visit and work there too. The buildings will create 50,000 square metres of space – the equivalent of seven professional football pitches. That’s a lot of space! This will be made up of research space and student accommodation as well as retail and community engagement space.

Sadler's Wells Theatre Image

Sadler's Wells Theatre

Sadler’s Wells Theatre is the world’s number one venue dedicated to international dance – from ballet to hip hop, their students learn it all. The current theatre is in Clerkenwell, London but they will soon be expanding to the East Bank development in Stratford. The new theatre will comprise of a 550-seat theatre, a new studio for dance practice and a dedicated hip-hop academy – the first of its kind in the UK The new theatre is set to open in 2025 and will offer a year-round programme of dance as well as community events and more.
The V&A Image

The V&A

The popular V&A museum will open two inter-connected sites in the area – one at the East Bank development and another research centre at nearby Here East. Due to open in 2025, the V&A will showcase its world-famous collections at the museums which will become a popular spot for tourists to visit and provide a place for young people and communities to develop creative and research skills.
London College of Fashion Image

London College of Fashion

East Bank – set to be the new cultural heart of London. Welcoming world-renowned organisations like BBC Music, Sadler’s Wells and a new V&A partnership, it’s going to bring jobs, tourism and business to Stratford. Not to mention new spaces for creative, academic and civic activity. The new campus in Stratford will house multi-purpose lecture theatres to be used for classes as well as community events. There will be public spaces featuring work from some of the courses, art and a café. It will have specialist teaching spaces for media, communications and the fashion business school. The new London fashion college campus is set to open in 2023.

BBC Music Studios Image

BBC Music Studios

As part of the Stratford East Bank Development, the BBC Music Studios will be making a move too. The brand-new music studios will allow for state of the art music recording, rehearsal studios and a purpose built base for the BBC Symphony and Concert Orchestras. Local outreach and community partnerships are key to the BBC’s move to Stratford. Community engagement and collaborations with local schools are already underway and soon digital resources will be available to all schools in the UK. They’ll also continue to support music with live events such as the BBC Proms and recordings from various BBC radio channels.

Joining the above cultural giants, East Bank will welcome two of London’s world-class higher education establishments. Find out more about the educated workforce we’ll be welcoming to Stratford.