London, Tuesday, 16 September 2025.
Last Monday Landsec, Holovis and creative studio Wake The Tiger confirmed two immersive installations for 2025: themed storytelling guest journeys at Westfield London and the UK’s first ApolloDomes—two 19‑metre projection domes—at Gunwharf Quays, debuting with Halloween and Christmas programmes. For retail operators and investors this marks a deliberate pivot to experience‑led tenancy: lower‑footprint, faster‑fit‑out attractions that drive dwell time, ancillary F&B and repeat visitation while commanding ticket revenue and flexible content licensing. Key operational levers include planning and noise constraints in urban centres, dome safety and staffing, AV lifecycle and content pipelines, plus integration with dynamic ticketing, mall marketing and landlord‑subtenant commercial models. The most intriguing fact: large‑scale dome projection arrives in mainstream UK retail, offering a scalable, high‑turnover entertainment format that sits between pop‑up experiences and full‑scale dark rides. Retail executives should weigh capex, programming agility and revenue‑share when assessing whether domes and immersive journeys belong in leasing mix.