Eastbourne Looking Back: 90th anniversary of town's bandstand

The Bandstand was officially opened by the Lord Lieutenant of the county, Lord Leconfieldon, on August 5, 1935, and was built to designs by Borough Council Engineer Leslie Rosevere.

The Grade II listed building cost about £28,000 to construct.

Before its official opening date, the structure had already played host to its first concerts – with a total of 10,400 people attending the first three shows.

Back then, a show at the Bandstand would set you back three pence. It played host exclusively to military bands, which would play daily for much of the year.

Each band would come for a residency for a six-day week, with civilian bands playing on a Saturday afternoon.

In 2004, during the Iraq war, it became difficult to book military bands because they were out on active service, so alternative musical entertainment was booked.

In 2005, the first ABBA tribute act performed at the Bandstand and was ‘an overwhelming success’. The following year saw the start of the Tribute Show season as we know it, with different weekly shows on Friday evenings.

Last month, Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC) assured residents ‘the Bandstand is safe’ after an independent report found several structural elements are ‘in a critical state and dangerously weakened’.

£1.1 million of ‘essential’ works have been planned for the end of 2025, which will see the demolition of the lower and middle parade level shelters and supporting columns, according to a report by EBC.

The ‘removal of dangerous structures’ will ‘provide an essential buffer of time to provide the best options for the Bandstand’s future preservation and potential restoration’, according to EBC.