Nottingham’s Rock City venue has issued an update after a fire broke out on the premises earlier today.
The iconic 2000-capacity venue in Nottingham city centre was the site of a blaze this morning (May 28), with police cordoning off the area of Clarendon Street and Talbot Street and fire engines attending the incident at around 9:30am.
Rock City’s owner George Akins later told the Nottingham Post that everybody inside the building had been evacuated and the fire had been successfully extinguished.
This evening, the venue issued an update to say that they were “delighted to say Rock City has been cleared as safe to open”. They said that tonight’s club night will go ahead but the scheduled gig from Bristol folk group The Longest Johns will not.
“Unfortunately, due to the disruption earlier today, there has not been enough time for tonight’s gig to load in and soundcheck properly,” they said. “We never want to compromise the quality of a show, so tonight’s gig will not be going ahead as planned.”
“We’re working with the artist’s team to reschedule the show and will update ticket holders as soon as possible with further details,” they added.
Explaining how the fire came about, they added: “During planned maintenance works at Rock City this morning, as part of a major upgrade to our air handling system, a small fire occurred within part of a ventilation unit, causing smoke in the ceiling space.”
“Everyone onsite was safely evacuated, the situation was quickly brought under control, and checks have now been completed. We’re pleased to say the impact was limited and the venue is safe to reopen.”
“A huge thank you to our onsite teams and Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue for their swift response and support. Thanks for bearing with us,” they concluded.
Rock City is owned by the promoters DHP Family, as are fellow Nottingham venues Rescue Rooms and Bodega, and it opened in December 1980, with The Undertones the first band ever to play there. It has since played host to the likes of David Bowie, Nirvana and Oasis.
