page_title: Leicester Square
section_title: Entertainment
hierarchical_section_title: Leicester Square / Features / Entertainment
caption_attribution_description: English: Ticket Booth, Leicester Square W1
context_page_description: Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named for Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester.
  The square was originally a gentrified residential area, with tenants including Frederick, Prince of Wales and the artists William Hogarth and Joshua Reynolds. It became more down-market in the late 18th century as Leicester House was demolished and retail developments took place, becoming a centre for entertainment. Several major theatres were built in the 19th century, which were converted to cinemas towards the middle of the next. Leicester Square holds a number of nationally significant cinemas such as the Odeon Leicester Square, Empire, Leicester Square, which are often used for film premieres. The nearby Prince Charles Cinema is known for its screenings of cult films and marathon film runs. The square remains a tourist attraction which hosts events, including for the Chinese New Year.
  The square has always had a park in its centre, which was originally Lammas land.
context_section_description: Leicester Square is the centre of London's cinema land, and one of the signs marking the Square bears the legend "Theatreland". It contains the cinema with the largest screen and another with the most seats (over 1,600). The square is the prime location in London for film premieres and co-hosts the London Film Festival each year. Similar to Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, the square was surrounded by floor mounted plaques with film stars' names and cast handprints. During the 2010–2012 refurbishment, many of the plaques were removed, confusing tourists who still expected to find them there.
  The Leicester Square Theatre is based in nearby Leicester Place. It was constructed in 1955 as a church, before becoming the Notre Dame Hall, then the Cavern in the Town, a popular live music venue in the 1960s. In the 1970s, it was renamed back to the Notre Dame Hall, where the Sex Pistols played one of their first gigs at the club on 15 November 1976. It was converted into a theatre in 2002 as The Venue, and refurbished as the Leicester Square Theatre in 2008. In 2014, it began a production of a musical based on Oscar Wilde's De Profundis.
  The Square has been the home for TKTS (originally known as the Official London Half-Price Theatre Ticket Booth), since 1980. Tickets for theatre performances taking place around the West End that day and during the week are sold from the booth at a significant discount. The popularity of the booth has given rise to other booths and stores around the Square that advertise half-price tickets for West End shows. The Official London Theatre Guide recommends avoiding these booths as they are not official and do not contain the Society of Ticket Agents & Retailers (STAR) logo.
  The Square is home to the 93,000 square feet (8,600 m²) Hippodrome Casino. Following a £40m refurbishment in 2012, the premises can now accommodate 2,000 patrons.
  Global Radio has its headquarters on the east side of Leicester Square at No. 30, close to the Odeon. The building houses the radio stations Capital, Capital Xtra, Classic FM, Gold, Heart, LBC, Smooth Radio and Radio X.
caption: The TKTS booth in Leicester Square is the official place to purchase cheap theatre tickets in the West End besides being synonymous with London film premieres.
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