For live gigs – Companion / Carer Ticket. This venue offers one free companion ticket, which can be booked by contacting the venue directly. These can be limited in availability so please ensure you contact the venue as soon as possible to arrange companion / carer ticket Holders should be able to meet the needs and assist the person they are accompanying in the event of an emergency.

For ease of access, we recommend arriving at the venue 10 – 15 minutes prior to the doors opening. The door time will be stated on the tickets or confirmations. Please try to arrive at the venue no later than 60 minutes after the doors open. Upon your arrival, please go to the front door and give your name to security / present your email confirmation. Security will guide you through the process of getting your carer pass (if applicable) and getting to the required viewing area.

The venue has one accessible toilet located with the ladies toilets and one accessible toilet located within the men’s toilets on the ground floor of the venue.

In accordance with section 27 of the licensing law the venue has the right to refuse admission without providing a reason. If you have consumed alcohol prior to arrival and appear to be in an intoxicated state or behave inappropriately in the queue or in view of the venue staff you may be refused entry without a refund.

Crowd surfing, smoking within the venue, the throwing of drinks and any other behaviour deemed as inappropriate whilst inside the venue will result in ejection from the premises without a refund.

Live Shows

The Empire holds a 14+ Licence

Children who appear to look under the age of 14 that arrive at a show and cannot prove they are 14 or over may be refused entry depending on the type of show. This decision will be made by the duty manager. Parents will be called to collect their child if the show is not suitable for the person to attend unaccompanied. No refund will be given in this instance.

Club Nights

Strictly 18+

If under 25 ID will be required

The venue’s management have the right to refuse entry without a refund.
Please ensure you read all the show details prior to booking tickets.

If it’s your birthday this week then send us a message via our Facebook page and we’ll get you and a friend in on our guestlist free of charge this Friday (DRC) or Saturday (Shangri-la) night. We’ll also Q-jump the rest of your mates so you can all get in together.

You will need to let us know that it’s your birthday before 8pm on the night that you’re coming to The Empire.

You will be asked to provide ID upon arrival at the club so we can verify that it’s your birthday this week.

All tickets should be purchased through one of the recognised outlets. Our own website, Fatsoma, Ticketweb, Ticket Master, SEE Tickets, etc.
Tickets cannot be purchased over the phone directly with the venue.

BEWARE OF SECONDARY TICKETING (Touts, eBay, etc).

Fraudulent tickets such as cancelled and duplicated tickets can be sold on the secondary ticketing market. The venue is unable to help with ticketing problems unless tickets are purchased with an authorised ticketing agent.

Braille information sheets are available on request please email peter@themiddlesbroghempire.co.uk or call venue on 01642 253553.

For the satisfaction of other customers iPads and/or tablet devices are not permitted to photograph or film during any performances. Customers who persist may be asked to leave the venue.

No professional cameras (with large or detachable lenses), video cameras or tape recorders are permitted in the venue. Should you be found to have these on arrival you will be asked to either take them back to somewhere safe or be asked to deposit them in the cloakroom.
Small compact cameras/mobile phone cameras are allowed unless otherwise specified on the day of the show.

The Middlesbrough Empire operates a Challenge 25 policy using a Scannet identification system. This system matches each customer to their own identification via fingerprint technology – first of all this means that customers will only need to bring their ID to the venue once, returning customers can verify their age via their fingerprint. Secondly this new system will prevent anyone other than the owner of the ID from using it. Scannet also quickly and effectively checks the validity of any identification enabling the venue to target and eradicate the use of fraudulent passports and driving licences.

Our ID system currently accepts UK Driving Licence, UK PASS Card, UK Army ID, UK Passport, International Passports and International Driving Licences.

If you are lucky enough to look under 25, you will be asked to prove that you are over 18, when you purchase alcohol.
Challenge 25 is the same principle as challenge 21. All customers who look under the age of 25 will be required to provide ID when purchasing alcohol.

If you are under 18 you are committing a criminal offence if you attempt to buy alcohol and you may be ejected without a refund or held until a responsible adult can come and collect you.

People over the age of 18 found purchasing drinks for those not of legal age will be ejected without a refund.
The police will be notified of any attempts to use fraudulent identification.

Before entering the premises, all customers will be asked to remove any headwear that obscures their face as they enter the building for identification purposes. This is for the security and the safety of all of the customers within the venue, as it allows us to track, trace and match up any customer that may be a danger to any of our patrons or staff. Customers may put their headwear on once they are inside the premises. Venue security reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone who fails to adhere to this request. If removing headwear is an issue, we advise contacting the venue prior to your visit.

If you have a complaint about the venue or event please speak to a member of security who will try to assist and in turn, if necessary, contact a duty manager immediately during the show to try and resolve the issue.

Complaints after an event should be sent in writing (via email) directly to the venue’s enquiry address listed on the website.

If you have lost items or left them in the cloakroom please call or email the venue directly on 01642 253553 with a description of the missing item, the date it was left, contact details and any other relevant information.

If the item can be located will make arrangements for you to collect the item. Phone line is open 10.30am until 3pm. The venue will keep items for a maximum of 2 weeks after which they are passed on to local charity shops. Valuable items may be held for a longer period.

Items such as passports etc are kept for 21 days then destroyed.

Any fraudulent pieces of identification are handed to the police.

Please be aware that there will be high sound levels during shows and patrons may be subject to continuous sound levels which may cause potential damage to hearing. Ear plugs are available on request should they be required.

The venue operates a neighbour friendly policy, when leaving the venue please make as little noise as possible.

Once you have entered a venue there will be no pass outs and no re-admittance.

Should you leave the venue for any reason you will not be readmitted and no refund will be given. Unless it’s for emergency or within the smoking area.

We discourage bringing medication to the venue however we do understand that for some people this is a necessity. Therefore, should a person attend a show with prescription drugs the following applies:

A sealed package of prescribed medication of a small quantity is permitted providing that the person’s name is on the label. A prescription for the medication should be brought with you if possible, so that may identify the prescription as belonging to you.
Any person with items that are deemed unidentifiable / not in the original packaging or of a large quantity will be asked to speak with the venue’s medics on the night who will assess the situation. This may result in items being kept in the medical room where they can be accessed if required.

Please be aware that evidence may be requested by security or the medic on entry. You may also be requested to speak with the duty manager.
A person who intends to bring into a venue medical sharps will be asked to discuss their usage with the senior duty manager and the venue medical staff, in a private area, to ensure that their condition requires immediate access to these items and to also ensure the customer is aware of how to locate and access an area whereby they can administer the required treatment without any concern.

These are limited seated areas as The Empire is a standing venue. People who are unable to stand for the duration of the show please contact the venue to make prior arrangements on 01642 253553.

For the majority of shows the doors open at 7pm with a curfew of 11pm. On nights when there are club events after a gig (Fridays and Saturdays) doors will open at approximately 7pm with a 10.30pm curfew.

Information about door opening times will be provided with your tickets.

Late night events start and finish times differ and details will be provided with your tickets. You will also be able to find event start times on the event information page found on the venue’s website.

Show times and support acts will be listed on the venue’s website and social networking pages as and when they are known to the venue. Normally this is not known until the day of the show.

All times and support acts listed are subject to change and are to be used as guidance only. Do not use the stage times listed to make travel arrangements.

In line with the law, The Middlesbrough Empire is a non-smoking venue.

Smoking is not permitted in any area of the venue. As a result of customer demand there is a dedicated smoking area which is accessible via the 1st floor of the venue during club nights. For other events the smoking area will be at the front of the building and accessible via the main entrance.

Please be aware if you appear to be under 18 you may be asked for ID to enter the smoking area.

Those found to be smoking inside the venue may be ejected without a refund.

Some shows will contain strobe lighting or smoke effects. Signage will be up in the venue to advise of this. Should you have an issue please speak to a member of staff on the night. On shows with a higher than usual amount / level of this effect extra signage is displayed.

Terms and conditions for events can be found when purchasing tickets for events and via the ticket vendor that you bought tickets for the event from.

Crowd surfing and the throwing of drinks are strictly prohibited in the venue and those who do this will be ejected without a refund.
Patrons who appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be refused entry without a refund.

The venue has the right to refuse admission to any patron without providing a reason.