2012 London to London

Photo: www.hmtickets.com Photo: ITTF Archives
The Stadium Club
Alexandra Palace
The Stadium Club in Holborn started life
in 1867 as the New Royal Amphitheatre.
It ceased operating as a theatre in
1887 and was converted into the West
Central Hall, subsequently to be known
as the Holborn Stadium and finally as
the Stadium Club.
The finals of the first Daily Mirror
national table tennis tournament were
staged there in 1923 and it was used
for the ceremonial opening of the ITTF
Foundation Meeting in 1926. In the
1920s and 1930s it accommodated a
variety of sports, particularly boxing,
until it was destroyed by bombing
during World War Two.
The Alexandra Palace was built in
1873 as a public centre of recreation,
education and entertainment, North
London’s equivalent to the Crystal
Palace in South London. In the 1900s
it was one of London’s most popular
table tennis venues and a number of
large tournaments took place there.
It became in 1936 the headquarters of
the world’s first regular public television
service operated by the BBC and the
original transmission tower has been
retained. It is still in use, now mainly as
an exhibition and conference centre.
London, the Home of Table Tennis
London to London 21