London's cultural landscape is about to change with a shift of concert-going audiences further east in the capital city.

Last week Earl's Court Exhibition Centre, which has hosted concerts such as Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Beyonce, Elton John and Billy Joel, fell into the hands of new owners who are evaluating whether to demolish the iconic Art Deco building and make way for 8,000 new homes.

New show arenas O2 and Excel, both in east London, are blamed for the commercial demise of Earl's Court, which is adjacent to the Earl's Court Olympia site where two years ago Radio ORLA.fm conducted the first-ever remote Polish radio broadcast over three days at the Positively Poland event. Radio ORLA understands the Olympia site is not under threat and some of the events, such as Ideal Homes Show and Discover Dogs may relocate to that nearby site.

But Earl's Court Exhibition Centre on Warwick Road could be doomed after being sold to developers Capital and Counties (Capco), which now owns 100 percent of the site after last week acquiring the 50 percent it didn't previously own.

This year's Brit Awards, celebrating the best of British contemporary music, in February are safe at Earl's Court Arena, part of the complex, but could be one of the last. No decision on demolition to make way for flats has yet been taken. Nevertheless, with the news this week that the UK is coming out of economic recession and property prices set to rise, the temptation to put business interests before nostalgia will be intense.

Earl's Court, which opened in 1937, was selected to host the 2012 Olympic Games volleyball contest, so it will likely remain for another three years.

Capco has said it wants to build "up to 8,000 new homes. We envisage a large-scale residential-led development."

The road to demolition is fraught with obstacles. A planning application will need to be lodged with Hammersmith & Fulham Council in a year's time and the move from commercial use of land to residential is dramatic. The Council will also have to consider what other industries could be adversely affected by the loss of the concert and exhibitions hall, and the loss of prestige that the centre attracts.

The venue, which has also hosted bands such as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, as well as George Michael and Rod Stewart, is one of only a few remaining on the west side of London. Another is Wembley Arena.

"Wembley Arena has one disadvantage, from a sound point of view. The central area covers over a swimming pool when there are concerts, so imagine that it has a more cavernous sound for bands," said Clive Franks, sound engineer of Sir Elton John.