Saltdean Lido is to host a music festival event for its 85th anniversary as a fundraiser for its restoration project.
A 13 year restoration project is nearing completion, with retro-style doors being fitted to the art deco building this week.
The Big Weekend festival will take place across this weekend, with a family-friendly disco-style night, giant dance floor, licensed bar, and a live rock and roll band.
While the festival will take place in a chandelier-lit marquee, guests will be able to see the historic building and pool illuminated up close.
Deryck Chester, from the Saltdean Lido Community Interest Company (SLCIC) said: “Saltdean has always been a home for live entertainment – ever since its origins as a holiday village.
“The lido itself was conceived as a leisure facility offering fine-dining, dancing as well as swimming.
“We’re excited to be bringing big-named acts back to the lido in time for the Big Weekend festival.”
Live entertainment on Friday, 16 June will include a free swim and celebrates the music of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
On Saturday, 17 June five-piece band, The Bluejays, will play a mix of music from the 1950s and 1960s.
The retro-style doors are exact replicas of the original aircraft-hanger timber doors, and will be openable with a view of the pool in the same way that visitors experienced in 1938.
The art deco lido is a Grade II* listed venue, built in 1937, which had a three-tiered diving board, artificial beaches, children’s paddling pool, and ballroom when it first opened.
In 1941, the lido’s original neon-lit art deco sign was taken down and lost as the pool was requisitioned by the National Fire Service as a water tank, and the grounds were used for fire training exercises.
The building was briefly used for church services and a Sunday school, before being reopened in July 1964, with a restoration creating a new community centre and library.
Residents fought against plans to develop the site and create 102 homes in March 2010, and it was returned to Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) in May 2012.
In 2018, it was named by English Heritage as one of the Seven Wonders of The English Seaside.
Further information about the festival event can be found on the Saltdean Lido website.
https://saltdeanlido.org/
Waitress in the cafe upstairs was my summer holiday in 1966 before uni!! Princely sum of about £3 a week!!!
I’m so excited about the renovation!