O2 Arena (London)
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The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor
arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
in the centre of
The O2 The O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, Town square, piazzas, ...
entertainment district on the
Greenwich Peninsula The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South London, South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the River Thames, Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the ...
in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of any indoor venue in the United Kingdom, behind
Co-op Live Co-op Live is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, sited in the Etihad Campus next to the City of Manchester Stadium. It opened on 14 May 2024 and is the List of indoor arenas in Europe, largest indoor arena in the UK by capacity, and List ...
and
Manchester Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Pr ...
, and in 2008 was the world's busiest music arena. As of 2022, it is the ninth-largest building in the world by volume with a diameter of 365 metres (399 yards) and a height of 52 metres (57 yards). The arena was built under the
Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millen ...
(renamed The O2), a large dome-shaped building built to house an exhibition celebrating the turn of the third millennium; as the structure still stands over the arena, ''The Dome'' remains a name in common usage for the venue. The arena, as well as the overall complex, is named after its primary sponsor, the telecommunications company O2, a subsidiary of
Virgin Media O2 VMED O2 UK Limited, trading as Virgin Media O2, is a British mass media and telecommunications company based in Reading, England. The company was formed in June 2021 as a 50–50 joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica through ...
. The nearest tube station to the arena is North Greenwich on the
Jubilee line The Jubilee line is a London Underground line that runs between in suburban north-west London and in east London, via the West End of London, West End, South Bank and London Docklands, Docklands. Opened in 1979, it is the newest line on the ...
.


History

Following the closure of the
Millennium Experience The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millen ...
at the end of 2000, the
Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millen ...
was leased to Meridian Delta Ltd. in December 2001, for redevelopment as an entertainment complex. This included plans for an indoor arena. Construction of the arena started in 2003, and finished in 2007. In December 2004, after the interior of the dome had been largely cleared and before building work inside began, the dome was used as the main venue for the annual Crisis Open Christmas organised by the London-based homelessness charity
Crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...
. Owing to the impossibility of using cranes inside the dome structure, the arena's roof was constructed on the ground within the dome and then lifted; the arena building's structure was then built around the roof. The arena building, which houses the arena and the arena concourse, is independent from all other buildings in the O2 and houses all the arena's facilities. The arena building itself takes up 40% of the total dome structure. The seating arrangement throughout the whole arena can be modified, similar to the
AO Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Prior to the opening of ...
in Manchester. The ground surface can also be changed between ice rink, basketball court, exhibition space, conference venue, private hire venue and concert venue. The arena was designed to reduce echoing, a problem common among older arenas used for concerts. On 18 February 2022 during
Storm Eunice Storm Eunice () (known as Storm Zeynep in Germany and Storm Nora in Denmark) was an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds that was part of the 2021–2022 European windstorm season. Storm Eunice was named by the U ...
, large sections of the arena's fabric roof were shredded, causing the evacuation of 1,000 people, and the venue to close. It was later announced that repair works would take place and that the arena was likely to reopen on 25 February 2022, for a UB40 concert. The repairs took place as planned, with the O2 Arena reopened as scheduled.


Events

The O2 Arena has hosted a variety of events, including but not limited to: sports events, concerts, music festivals, comedy shows, conferences, and the Olympics. Musical artists such as
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
,
Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...
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JoJo Siwa Joelle Joanie "JoJo" Siwa ( ; born May 19, 2003) is an American singer, dancer, actress, and media personality. From 2015 to 2016, she appeared as a dancer on two seasons of the reality television show '' Dance Moms'' alongside her mother, Jess ...
, Blondie,
Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...
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,
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, Olivia Rodrigo,
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, Diljit Dosanjh, Gracie Abrams,
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, and
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have headlined concerts at the venue. Beginning in July 2009, American singer
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
was scheduled to hold a 50-show residency at the arena, titled This Is It. However, he died on 25 June, eighteen days before the first scheduled show. During the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
and Paralympics, the venue was referred as the North Greenwich Arena due to Olympics regulations regarding corporate sponsorship of event sites. The arena hosted the ATP World Tour Finals between 2009 and 2020. Since March 2013, the arena has hosted C2C: Country to Country, Europe's largest
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
festival, which annually attracts over 20,000 fans. UK and Irish acts, as well as up-and-coming American acts, perform sets several times across various pop-up stages in and around the arena, with the main stage accessible only to ticket-holders. The seventh C2C was held on 8–10 March 2019. The arena has hosted the 2013 EuroLeague Final Four between 10 and 12 May 2013. On 15 October 2022, the O2 hosted a boxing match between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall that was the first time two female boxers headlined at a major venue in the United Kingdom. Shields won, and the fight headlined the first all-female boxing card in the United Kingdom. On 1 July 2023, the O2 Arena hosted
WWE Money In The Bank WWE Money in the Bank is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 2010 by the American company WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. The event is named after the Money in the Bank ladder match, a multi-person ...
, as well as the 30 June 2023 go-home episode of '' Friday Night SmackDown'' beforehand, which was the first time the show aired live on BT Sport (Now known as TNT Sports). On 2 November 2024, the O2 Arena hosted the finals of the 2024 League of Legends World Championship. T1 of the
League of Legends Champions Korea ''League of Legends'' Champions Korea (LCK) is the primary competition for ''League of Legends'' esports in South Korea. Contested by ten teams, the league runs two seasons per year and serves as a direct route to qualification for the annual ...
claimed their fifth title against Bilibili Gaming of China's
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. On 18 February 2025, the O2 hosted F1 75 Live, a special launch event for the 2025 Formula One World Championship in which all ten teams and twenty drivers were present to unveil their season liveries and to launch Formula One's 75th anniversary season. This was the first time in the history of the
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
World Championship where all competing teams reveal their liveries together and at the same time. In late March 2025 the O2 hosted WWE Friday Night SmackDown and WWE Monday Night Raw. On 30 May 2025 heavy metal band
Babymetal (stylized in all caps as BABYMETAL) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal", Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal" and Momoko Okazaki as "Momometal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse Inc., Amuse talent a ...
became the first Japanese artist to headline, and sell out, a show at the O2 Arena.


Ticket sales records

Despite being open for only 200 days per year (the equivalent of seven months), the venue sold over 1.2 million tickets in 2007, making it the third most popular venue in the world for concerts and family shows, narrowly behind the
Manchester Arena Manchester Arena (currently known as AO Arena for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. Pr ...
(1.25 million) and
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in New York City (1.23 million). As of 2023, the O2 Arena was the third busiest music arena in the world in terms of ticket sales.


Prizes and awards

*2016 Pollstar International Venue of the Year *2016 Billboard Touring Awards: Top Arena *2016 The London Venue Awards: Best Music Venue *2016 The Drum UK Event Awards: Large Venue of the Year *2017 Pollstar International Venue of the Year


See also

*
The O2 The O2 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, Town square, piazzas, ...
*
Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millen ...
*'' Live at the O² Arena'' *
List of tennis stadiums by capacity The following is a list of notable tennis stadiums by capacity, that is the maximum number of spectators they can regularly accommodate. Notes: * Stadiums ordered by their capacity (if equal, by the first stadium to reach the capacity) * Some of ...


References


External links

*
London 2012 Olympics profile
(archived 9 December 2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:O2 Arena
Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...
Venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic basketball venues Olympic gymnastics venues 2012 Summer Paralympic venues Boxing venues in the United Kingdom Basketball venues in England Ice hockey venues in England Indoor arenas in London Sports venues in London Tennis venues in London 2007 establishments in England Sports venues completed in 2007 Music venues completed in 2007 Music venues in London Sport in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Tourist attractions in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Netball venues in England