Scarborough Open Air Theatre
Scarborough Open Air Theatre
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
Closed
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Scarborough's Open Air Theatre is the largest in Europe, with the original being built by Scarborough Corporation in the 1930s. Since the open air theatre was re-launched in 2010 by Her Majesty the Queen, after a £3.5M refurbishment. Over the last few years, Scarborough Open Air Theatre has played host to some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Elton John, Jessie J, Boyzone, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, JLS, Status Quo and McFly to name a few.
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- PaulLouYork, United Kingdom46 contributionsBest of ScarboroughThis venue is an absolutely fantastic place to see lots of amazing acts. We have visited on numerous occasions, we have been located in the seating and standing zones we personally prefer standing. We like to be up close to the acts, feel the atmosphere and throw some shapes. Unfortunately none of the areas are undercover so we always recommend taking ponchos due to good old English weather. The staff are always helpful and friendly there is always plenty of options on food and drink but can be a bit on the expensive side. Although the venue is very busy we have always managed to park about 5-10 mins away and taxis are easy to book. We also like to visit the lovely little bar just round the corner on the beach front for a pre show drinkVisited July 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 5 April 2024
- alicon9957 contributionsThe best live music venue we have been to. Very highly recommended.Status Quo concert. We had never been to this venue before, although we are very familiar with Scarborough. Very easy to get to and we found plenty of on-street parking easily within a few minutes walk. The staff were, without exception, friendly and extremely efficient. The actual theatre is quite spectacular - the steep gradient means that everyone with a seat can see the act, and not just the back of people's heads. Brilliant atmosphere, brilliant view, hard to find any faultVisited May 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 2 June 2024
- Angela16 contributionsGreat venue, but very overpriced food and drink.We go here often through the summer. Great venue and good security. The downside is no food or drinks allowed to be brought in. This would be alright if the food and drinks at the venue were not a royal rip-off. £7.50 for a single rum. The bar staff did not speak a word of English and had no idea which was the rum bottle. I asked for a double, and after five minutes of confusion, I was served a single rum in two cups. Infact, the bar should be closed during the concert as everyone was up n down all night, like they weren’t there to see a band, just there to queue at the bar all night. It’s very disruptive. I’m not a Karen but it was annoying having to let people squeeze past all evening. OAT is greedy.Visited June 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 22 June 2024
- Sarah T162 contributionsWell organised venueThis is an excellent venue. Really well organised in terms of entry/exit, bar & toilets. We had standing tickets and the views were good and not too cramped even though it was sold out. Drinks prices were as expected for a gig venue.Visited July 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 6 July 2024
- RichScunthorpe, United Kingdom103 contributionsFantastic venue. First class sound systemBooked SOAT for the Fatboy Slim shindig. One of the best nights I’ve had. Went with friends, loved the venue, capacity is perfect. Norman Cook was on fire, one stomping tune after another belting out through the faultless sound system. The only gripe I have is with the very poor quality drinks on offer. Opted safe for the cider, one of the worst drinks I’ve had. Had some beer off others and that was a total let down as well. Think for the high prices being charged the could at least serve a decent pint.Visited July 2024Travelled with friendsWritten 7 July 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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4.5
721 reviews
Excellent
429
Very good
175
Average
59
Poor
34
Terrible
24
Vicki R
York291 contributions
Jun 2023 • Friends
Watched Sting last night. The heavens opened for about half an hour of torrential rain where we all got soaked. Went to get 3 teas at the food van afterwards to be told they didn't have lids or a tray to carry the 3 piping hot drinks because "they're not baristas"! No spoons for the bag of sugar either...No but you are charging £2.50 a cup so you could be better organised
Toilets- portaloos ( why no proper toilets?) with NO handwashing facilities of even any sanitiser and no hooks on the doors for bags / coats etc. You could even have a handwashing area outside the loos to speed the process...
Rain capes being sold at £2 . No umbrellas allowed for obvious reasons.
Disabled guests area right at the back behind everyone up a steep slope had no cover over it, so those guys got really wet.
Booze extortionate as expected.
Young steward gabbing to her pal had to be interrupted twice to get info out of her !
So all in all a good gig and sound good but really poor facilities, for £70 a ticket I expect at least sanitary facilities!
Toilets- portaloos ( why no proper toilets?) with NO handwashing facilities of even any sanitiser and no hooks on the doors for bags / coats etc. You could even have a handwashing area outside the loos to speed the process...
Rain capes being sold at £2 . No umbrellas allowed for obvious reasons.
Disabled guests area right at the back behind everyone up a steep slope had no cover over it, so those guys got really wet.
Booze extortionate as expected.
Young steward gabbing to her pal had to be interrupted twice to get info out of her !
So all in all a good gig and sound good but really poor facilities, for £70 a ticket I expect at least sanitary facilities!
Written 26 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cara D
17 contributions
Jul 2023 • Family
Attended the Tom Grennan concert with my 15 year old son and 6 year old daughter which was absolutely brilliant. Great venue with plenty of facilities. Queuing was very quick and easy. Would advise you download tickets on phone before arriving as the WiFi is not very good. Food is pricey noodles with chicken and curry cost £15. Ques for the bar/toilets was big but they went down fast. This venue is card payments only which isn't a problem. Had a brilliant view from our seats which was row U in the white section seats 29 onwards. Overall a great venue and I would defenutaly return plus Tom was amazing he knew how to get the crowd going and up and dancing.
Written 8 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shari C
York, UK16 contributions
Jun 2022
We went for Ru Paul's Drag Race - Werq The World Tour and it was amazing, the show was awesome as expected but the venue was amazing and had a major uplift since I was last there many years ago!. The Queue was easily navigated and we did not need to print off our tickets as we got scanned on the way in, although printing off our tickets was available at the box office if we wanted to keep them, we did! This was nice as was no extra charge! Being in a wheelchair we were shown the disabled seating area which was, unlike some other venues, great seating with a great view. The food and drink were very much what you would expect to pay at a top venue, if anyone says otherwise then they clearly have not been to an arena or festival in a long time! Queues moved quickly, The outside queue was long but moved very fast as soon as the gates opened at 6. When we asked what time the event would begin we were told 8 pm and we were more than happy with all information asked for and received with all staff being super helpful. We would definitely go again without any doubt.
Written 2 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
craigeleeds
Doncaster, UK129 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
The actual theatre is great, but the toilets are disgusting and not enough of them. Bars ate absolutely ridiculous prices £46 for a bottle of cheap and nasty wine and 2 single vodkas and coke ( they don't do doubles) queues are long so I would advise to take a hip flask or don't bother drinking. Seems like they just want to squeeze as much money out of people as possible, management should be ashamed.
Written 24 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
clare o
Pickering, England, United Kingdom41 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
I live in Scarborough so this is a great local venue for us. We’ve never been disappointed with the acts but there’s definitely a big jump in ticket prices this year.
What really annoys us is the rip off bar prices. A couple of years ago a plastic bottle of very mediocre wine was £20, last year £25 and this year £28.
I think there are enough reviews covering the lager and cider prices and the poor quality of these. Just remember if you could be at the venue for 4 hours and you are only allowed to bring a small sealed bottle of water with you.
What really annoys us is the rip off bar prices. A couple of years ago a plastic bottle of very mediocre wine was £20, last year £25 and this year £28.
I think there are enough reviews covering the lager and cider prices and the poor quality of these. Just remember if you could be at the venue for 4 hours and you are only allowed to bring a small sealed bottle of water with you.
Written 15 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Doctor Kiln
Holyhead, UK378 contributions
Jun 2022
What can you say ? 'Gates Open at 6pm' arrive early to soak up the atmosphere SOAT suggests... From queuing to finding my seat it took over an hour. Barely 30 minutes to queue to buy a bottle of wine for... £25 !!! You're searched at the gates to stop you bringing in your own alcohol and food and once in have no choice other than to pay £7 for a pint or £25 for a bottle of mediocre Romanian wine you find in a 7-11 for £3.99. As for food, I'd rather starve than pay the price of a slice of pizza ! Also, be warned, it's a concrete base, it can get damn chilly in there, wear two pairs of socks and take warm clothing for a later performance.
Written 7 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Martin A
Scarborough, UK68 contributions
Aug 2023
This is solely a review based on the venue not Pete Tong who was 5 star unlike the venue. As a local I think we have been blessed over the years by some of the acts that have to come to our humble town and up to and including last year I would say that our Open Air Theatre was a venue to be proud of but, this year what has happened??? As a venue the Open Air Theatre has dropped off a cliff, Scarborough Council or the event organizers need to get a grip, the toilet facilities were too few and sub standard, the queues to get a drink were horrendous, well over an hour and when you get to the bar a poor choice of drinks at extortionate prices served by miserable looking staff. I hope somebody somewhere who makes the decisions regarding this venue take note of the obvious drop off in standards and look to make radical improvements for next year.
Written 20 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
thescabadosman
Bridlington, UK8 contributions
Aug 2023 • Friends
Pete Tong last night and well what can I say Ive been driving back to brid this morning thinking how I actually had seen 20 minutes of the concert due to the terrible queues for the toilet and buying drinks I stood there for 55 minutes for the toilet I actually timed it and buying drinks was absolute madness and torture why do they have to open the drinks in front of you ??? Last year and the years before that the drinks que was always big but went down really quickly in the circumstances of a large popular venue they just seemed to do it in good speed and now it’s horrendous , I know many people like myself who travelled and stayed over in a hotel and this spoilt everything what the hell is wrong with the council why has it been so terrible this year !!! Until I see improvement I won’t go back and I know others who won’t either
Written 20 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Luke H
1 contribution
May 2022 • Couples
Not one for normally leaving reviews but after my experience at the Sam Fender gig I felt I had to let others know about the venue. The venue itself is great, but the facilities and staff are horrendous. We were waiting in a queue for drink for over 1 hour, leading us to miss the first 5 songs of his set. The bar set up is a joke. The venue is now cashless, which is all well and good, providing the card machines work. The amount of times people asked for drinks and food only to be told the machines weren’t working so could not serve them. This led to a lot of anger with people waiting in the queue for over an hour for a drink. Once we got to the bar after an hour there were 2 ladies serving, or at least that’s what we though. One worked the iPad/card machine and then stood and watched while the other lady poured the drinks, not helping her to do this. Again, this led to many angry comments as now Sam fender had been on around 30 minutes. The toilets are all portaloos, not an issue for me as a man as there were larger ones with urinals in but for females is not great, especially when they run out of toilet paper half way through the night. When you are paying £55 for a ticket and receive these types of facilities it is a joke. This was our first time to the OAT and will be our last. I have been to gigs with 10 times as many people and been served in a third of the time. Shambolic is the word I would use for the whole venue. Very disappointed
Written 29 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hakky1
Leeds, UK19 contributions
Jul 2022
1st and last time at this venue. No organisation whatsoever. No signage at the venue telling you where to go or what to do. Barriers where eventually erected but people still had no clue what they should be doing . A sudden shouted out announcement informed people that no glass perfume bottles would be allowed in. So several ladies at the front of the queue with expensive perfume bottles had to go and leave them at the ticket office or lose them. Small umbrellas where confiscated as per the venue rules of no umbrellas allowed in. However once inside we saw several people walking about with golf umbrellas. No large bags are officially allowed in but again once inside we saw people carrying huge rucksacks. Exciting the venue was a total unpleasant nightmare. We had to exit from the rear of our stand. We where funnelled down a hardly lit road with people tripping over potholes and drain covers. A truly awful experience.
Written 23 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can I exchange seated tickets for standing on the day
Written 22 January 2025
Does anyone know if they put extra trains on out of Scarborough. Read that shows finish around 10:30 but last train out is 10:45 which seems horribly tight.
Written 5 January 2025
What time is last admission into the Theatre, it says gates open at 6pm but would it to be ok to arrive at 7pm? thanks
Written 3 July 2024
Hi I bought a ticket to see Korn on the 8th August and it's in the purple seated section, has anyone been here before and are the seats good? I've heard they're quite restricted and I would hate to sell the ticket.
Written 1 July 2024
The Open Air Theatre is a great venu. Seating is colour coded, white section is directly opposite the stage with purple section far left facing the stage. The seating is tiered so no heads block your view. There are large screens on either side of the stage that show close ups etc and even a man doing signing, which is brilliant. Just hope it doesn't rain, you get very wet. Enjoy!
Written 3 July 2024
Purple Section - Row B
Hi all! Hoping someone might be able to offer up their experience. I bought 2 tickets in a rush at work worrying the event was gonna sell out. Had a good look when I got home and the seats look awful! Some people online complaining of restricted views, it’s very far to the side and very close to the barriers. I wouldn’t have bought restricted view tickets but it doesn’t advertise them as being restricted so wondering if it’s a bad as it sounds?
Thanks very much x
Written 10 January 2024
Have been to a few concerts, the terrace rows are quite steep so you will not get a head in the way, after a while people get up to have a bop so then everyone stands which is still good for views. Most seats are good views and they have large screens on either side of the stage for close up views. They also have someone that does signing. Brilliant venue, drinks and food not cheap, eat before you go. See my review on TripAdvisor I loaded done photos from last summer. Sure you will be fine, enjoy x
Written 11 January 2024
What is the seating made from.
Written 24 June 2023

Karen H
171 contributions
Plastic
Written 6 July 2023
Will I be able to take in a pram? Will there be room under the seat for it if I fold it up? Can I take in baby food/snacks? My baby is 10 months and we intend to take him with us
Written 23 June 2023
Seeing mamamia tomorrow our seats are white block d row end seats will we be able to see stage clearly from here
Written 14 June 2023
AJ Ratcliffe
York, United Kingdom
Is there a stage door where you can meet the cast? If so, where is it located?
Written 17 May 2023
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
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