
On Friday it will be 10 years to the day since indie band Bombay Bicycle Club took to the stage for the final concert at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in front of 20,000 fans.
Earlier there had been a nod to the storied history of the venue when Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour emerged from the wings for a rendition of Wish You Were Here.
Of the 303 concerts played at Earls Court, Pink Floyd topped the bill 27 times, while other big names had included David Bowie, Oasis, George Michael, Coldplay and Madonna.
But just weeks after Bombay Bicycle Club and Gilmour left the building the bulldozers went in, eventually reducing the Art Moderne landmark to an enormous pile of rubble.
The rubble has gone but a decade on, the site remains largely unchanged, a windswept 44-acre expanse of digger-ready real estate.
It is the biggest cleared site in central London, yet not a single permanent structure has been built there. It is likely to be another two years, even if the planning process goes smoothly, before work begins in earnest, and the early 2040s before it is fully completed.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In

Are you ready for medieval-core?
No one was more surprised than medieval armourer Matthew Finchen.

Worth the wait This is a beautifully written triumph
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel since 2013's Americanah is a winner

Low-budget indie film Anora wins big at the Oscars
“The more Hollywood changes, the more it remains the same,” writes Ty Burr.

Forget the Trump noisepeace could now be possible
There's much to fixate on, but it's best to judge the President on the substance

Is it the final call for the Heathrow villagers?
Life with the residents whose homes could be destroyed if a third runway touches down

The Fat Badger, London's first invite-only pub
A riotously fun boozer that doesn't officially exist? No wonder celebs are secretly flocking here

Marlon James on why Kingston is Jamaica's beating cultural heart
Whether it’s parties, patties or patois, this Caribbean capital is a non-stop celebration, says the Booker Prize-winning author

The London socialite. His aristocrat killer. And a mother's search for justice
The brutal, ketamine-fuelled killing of a public schoolboy shocked the world. In our new true-crime podcast, we tell the real story

“Last year's Festival was brutal, but we're ready to put it right”
The Guinness Village is, to Cheltenham racegoers, something of a field of dreams.

Me, Marrakech and I: How to ace a solo female trip
I first visited Marrakech with my then-boyfriend in 2004, when I spent my days getting lost in the labyrinthine souks and witnessing snake charmers hypnotise cobras. Over 20 years later, I decided to see how it fared for females going it alone.