Koningin Elisabethzaal Antwerpen

In November 2016, the brand new Queen Elisabeth Hall opened its doors.

The Queen Elisabeth Hall is a special heritage with a rich past. The origin of this hall, and indeed of the resident orchestra of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, lies with the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp. The KMDA is an association focused on zoology and nature conservation. In 1895, the management of the KMDA came up with the idea of organising zoo concerts at the Antwerp Zoo. This marked the beginning of the present Queen Elisabeth Hall. A banqueting hall has been located on the site of the Queen Elisabeth Hall since 1897, but it was not until 1960 that Queen Elisabeth opened the actual concert hall. Read more about our rich history below and find out all about the resident Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.

The new hall is taller, longer and narrower than the old one and has a corrugated wooden wall covering, which contributes to optimal acoustics. The absence of a fixed proscenium prevents sound loss. Where the old hall scored a mere 6 out of 10 in terms of acoustics, the new version does much better with a score of 9.3. This puts the Queen Elisabeth Hall on a par with similar halls in Amsterdam, Vienna and Boston.

The public capacity in the Elisabeth Hall will be preserved. Depending on the configuration (theatre, concert, congress), the capacity varies between 1,850 and 2,000 seats. The conference centre will have several additional rooms that can be divided into different compartments.