About Capitole Gent

There Once Was a Movie Theater

Following Belgium’s independence in 1830, the Zuid district was developed in Ghent around the city’s first railway station, later complemented by a zoo and public park. The façade of Capitole Gent, with its triangular pediment and neoclassical colonnade, dates back to 1850.

With the rise of sound films, there was a need for a cinema capable of accommodating this new technology. In 1932, architect Geo Henderick built a cinema auditorium behind the existing façade that stood out as an architectural masterpiece. Its acoustics and sightlines approached—and still approach—perfection.

Capitole Gent was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and largest cinemas in Belgium. At the same time, it was perfectly suited for live performances. The venue was designed as a warm and welcoming auditorium, featuring a large stage, professional lighting, and an 11-meter-high stage tower. At one point, an orchestra of one hundred musicians even performed on its stage.

Live performances typically featured a program of smaller attractions and variety acts before the main event, with rising talents appearing as the opening act. After the intermission, it was time for the stars. Alongside celebrated names such as Jan Kiepura, Martha Eggerth, Tino Rossi, Josephine Baker, and Luis Mariano, audiences also enjoyed performances by The Ramblers, Leo Martin and his orchestra, Les Compagnons de la Chanson, Anton Karas (composer of the famous theme from The Third Man), organist Ethel Smith, and many others. There was also room for a new generation of artists, including Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Vartan, Claude François, Richard Anthony (during the yé-yé era), The Platters, and Dalida.

That was all before the crisis in the cinema industry. After Capitole’s final movie screening in 1986, the venue remained empty for 14 years until Geert Allaert of Music Hall purchased both the theater and the adjacent building.

The legendary Ghent cinema reopened in grand style on Sunday, October 28, 2001, with the premiere of the musical Camelot. In the years that followed, the venue was expanded with a larger stage and a backstage area beneath it. Additional VIP spaces and bars were added. In 2008, a theater tower equipped with 48 computer-controlled fly bars was built, along with extra rehearsal rooms. In 2009, the stage was renovated and an acoustic orchestra pit was installed beneath the stage, accommodating orchestras of up to 64 musicians.

Capitole Gent thus evolved once again into a vibrant, modern theater while retaining its authentic architecture and exceptional charm. Each year, it presents a rich and diverse program ranging from classical music to pop and rock, and from theater, cabaret, and comedy to dance performances.

On January 6, 2014, be•at took over the day-to-day management of Capitole Gent and Stadsschouwburg Antwerpen from Music Hall. The year before, it had already assumed responsibility for the operation of Forest National.