Apple Corps, the company The Beatles founded in 1968, announced on Tuesday, October 20, that The Beatles Story — the attraction devoted to the band that has operated at Liverpool’s Albert Dock since 1990 — will move in 2028 to the former St Johns Market inside St Johns Shopping Centre, across from Lime Street station. The new site will cover about 100,000 square feet, more than four times its current footprint.
The multi-hour visit will combine immersive technology, original artifacts and reconstructed sets to trace the group’s history in sequence: postwar Liverpool, Hamburg, Beatlemania and international fame. Recreated locations will include The Cavern, Abbey Road, Shea Stadium and Savile Row. Some of those recreations will use sets and props from ‘The Beatles: A Four-Film Cinematic Event’, Sam Mendes‘ four-film project starring Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn and Barry Keoghan as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, which Sony Pictures will release in theaters worldwide in April 2028. The attraction will open shortly afterward.
Apple Corps is also taking over St Johns Beacon, Liverpool’s second-tallest building, where it will install a ‘Yellow Submarine’-themed viewing experience with 360-degree views of the city. It will operate as a standalone attraction, with combined tickets available alongside The Beatles Story. Before the move, Apple Corps will take over running the attraction at its current home in 2027. The Beatles Story has been owned since 2008 by Merseytravel, the publicly owned transport executive of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and drew more than 315,000 visitors in 2019. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
It will be the first official fan experience Apple Corps operates in Liverpool and only its second permanent one, after 3 Savile Row in London. That attraction, announced in May, is due to open at the end of 2027 in the Mayfair building that housed one of the company’s earliest headquarters, and on whose roof The Beatles gave their final live performance in 1969. Every ticket sold in Liverpool will contribute to the Apple Corps Liverpool Trust, a charitable initiative backing emerging Liverpool artists and local cultural projects; more details will follow. In August, Apple Corps also signed a global merchandise, licensing and e-commerce partnership with Universal Music Group, which has held the band’s recorded catalog since 2012.
“I find it incredible and humbling that people are still interested in our story,” said Paul McCartney. “I love Liverpool. It’s part of who I am, it’s part of who The Beatles are.” He added: “If you’d told us this was going to happen when we were hanging out and getting started, we’d never have believed it.” Ringo Starr recalled Saturdays spent with Roy Trafford at the Bodega and then the Cavern. “Liverpool was, and still is, music city,” he said, adding that he loves that “proceeds from every ticket will go back to support new Liverpool artists.” “Deep down I am still a scouser,” he said.
Tom Greene, Apple Corps’ CEO since September 2025, said that “Liverpool birthed the greatest band in history” and that the project “marks a new chapter” for the company. Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said “The Beatles belong to the world – but Liverpool will always be home,” while U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the band “one of the greatest examples of what Britain can give to the world.” Liverpool City Council Leader Liam Robinson described the plans as a chance “to kick-start the regeneration of an important gateway into our city centre.” The plans were developed with the council and the Combined Authority, with support from the U.K. government.
