About The O2
On the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, the O2 Arena, also referred to as the O2, is a multi-use indoor arena in the heart of the O2 entertainment complex. It debuted in this version in 2007. In 2008, it was the busiest music arena in the world and has the second-highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the UK, after the Manchester Arena.
The Millennium Dome, a sizeable dome-shaped structure constructed to house an exhibition commemorating the turn of the third millennium, served as the foundation for the arena's construction. Since the building still stands over the arena, the name "The Dome" is still frequently used to refer to the location. The arena and the entire O2 complex bear the name of the event's principal sponsor, the telecoms firm O2, a division of Virgin Media O2
History of The O2 Arena
The Millennium Dome was leased to Meridian Delta Ltd. in December 2001 for reconstruction into an entertainment facility after the Millennium Experience closed at the end of 2000. Plans for an indoor arena were also mentioned.
The arena's construction began in 2003 and was completed in 2007. In December 2004, the dome served as the main location for the annual Crisis Open Christmas event, which was organised by the London-based homeless organisation Crisis after the interior of the dome had been substantially cleaned and before construction work inside the dome began.
Due to the inability to use cranes inside the dome construction, the roof of the arena was first built on the ground inside the dome before being lifted, and the arena building was then constructed around it. All of the arena's facilities are housed in the arena building, which is separate from all other structures in the O2. It also houses the arena and the arena concourse. 40% of the overall dome structure is made up of the arena building.
Things you might not know about the O2 Arena
- Similar to the Manchester Arena, the seating configuration may be changed throughout the entire arena. A concert venue, exhibition area, conference venue, basketball court, and private hiring venue are all possible variations of the ground surface.
- The arena was created to lessen echoing, a problem that plagues many of London's concert venues.
- Large portions of the fabric roof of the arena were torn off on February 18, 2022, during Storm Eunice, forcing 1,000 people to flee and forcing the stadium to close. Later, it was revealed that repairs would be made and that UB40 will likely perform in the arena when it reopened on February 25, 2022.
- Rock musician Prince started a run of 21 sold-out performances at the O2 Arena in August 2007. Many of his classics were played during the record-breaking run, and the setlist was altered each night to ensure that no two performances were alike.
- Michael Jackson was slated to perform 50 shows as part of his This Is It engagement at the arena starting in July 2009, but he passed away on June 25, which was 18 days before the first show.
- Between 2009 and 2020, the arena served as the site of the ATP World Tour Tennis Finals.
- Due to Olympic rules surrounding corporate sponsorship of event venues, the location was known as the North Greenwich Arena during the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
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The O2 Arena
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Travelling to the O2 Arena
Want to read about another great promotional location in London? Check out Tower Bridge.