Hitting the Headlines
The Save the UPP campaign is making headlines nationwide—here’s how you can join the conversation, amplify the story, and help keep pressure on Oriel College as momentum builds.
The campaign to save the UPP has made the local, regional and national news since it launched a few weeks ago. Journalists are seeing this as an important story, of significance to people living in the city and way beyond.
You could be part of the story - we’d love it if you called in to a show on Radio Oxford BBC - About Radio Oxford, Heart Oxfordshire Contact Us - Heart Oxfordshire or Get Radio Home - Get Radio, or wrote a letter for publication in the Oxford Mail or Times.
Check out the coverage so far here:
- BBC South South Today - Lunchtime News: 16/03/2026 - BBC iPlayer starts at 4.47 mins in.
- ITV Meridian - Hollywood producer joins battle to save Oxford’s historic Ultimate Picture Palace | ITV News Meridian
- Daily Express: UK’s oldest cinema is at risk of closure – 115 years old | Express.co.uk
- Oxford Mail #1: Thousands back campaign to save Oxford's oldest cinema | Oxford Mail
- Oxford Mail # 2: Oxford culture chief calls to save Ultimate Picture Palace | Oxford Mail
- Oxford Mail # 3: Warning amid possible change of use at iconic Oxford cinema | Oxford Mail
- Radio Oxford: Radio Oxford - Listen Live - BBC Sounds scroll to 7.20am
- Time Out: One of the UK’s oldest cinemas is at risk of shutting down
- Cherwell: The independent cinema battling Oriel College to stay open - Cherwell
- The Clarion: Clarion Weekend, 13 March 2026
- Little White Lies magazine: Help to save one of the UK’s oldest cinemas | Little White Lies
Oriel has issued this statement to the media:
“We are proud of our heritage cinema, the Ultimate Picture Palace, and are in dialogue with the new managers about how to ensure it remains open to the wider public. We have no plans to extend the lease at this early stage in the tenancy.”
When Oriel say ‘new managers’ they’re referring to the fact that the cinema came into community-ownership in 2022. At that point, the lease was assigned to The Ultimate Picture Palace Community Cinema (UPPCC), following the freehold having been newly acquired by Oriel College in 2021. Many of our staff have been with the cinema for years.
In our discussions with the college we will continue to insist that in order to preserve the cinema they say they are proud of, the UPPCC needs to stay where it belongs, in the building on Jeune Street.
Questions? Ideas? Get in touch. Email us at campaign@uppcinema.com