Europe’s biggest karaoke venue is to open in Victoria on Friday after a £7 million investment by a French operator.
BAM Victoria will have 22 rooms with a capacity of between four and 30 people who will be able to pick any of 40,000 songs.
It is the ninth venue from BAM Karaoke Box, which was started by founder Arnaud Studer in 2014 after a trip to Japan. It currently has sites in Paris, Bordeaux and Madrid. The most frequently selected song in the French venues is Wannabe by the Spice Girls. BAM stands for “Boîte à Musique.
The 10,000 sq ft site on Victoria Street will also have a restaurants and five bars and will also have live music performances. Punters will pay between £12 and £30 each for two hours in a room with prices varying according to the time of day and the day of the week.
Food prices will start from £7 for small bites to around £15 for a burger while drinks will start at £7 going up to £15 for a cocktail. The business is targeting turnover of £8 million a year for the venue which has a total capacity of 220 people at any one time. It will open from 3pm to 1.30am initially just from Tuesday to Saturday but in due course seven days a week.
Studer said he plans to open two more London venues, one near London Bridge and another near Liverpool Street by the end of 2025. He said: “London is full of high end hotels and high end restaurant but we felt that the karaoke scene was not really served in the same way