http://www.musicweek.com/...reid=14514

With 1m ticket sales recorded even before it has opened, AEG's O2 Arena prepares to rise from the ashes of the former Millennium Dome and become a world-class entertainment venue. Adam Benzine reports.

When AEG agreed to take on the Millennium Dome in May 2005, with the aim of turning it into a world-class entertainment destination, many wrote the move off as madness. Indeed, even today, a Google search of "Dome" and "white elephant" still produces some 700,000 results.

Yet, as the 23,000-capacity venue prepares to open on June 24, when Bon Jovi will play the arena’s first show, AEG appears on the cusp of proving all doubters wrong. The only Madness evident is the band of the same name, who are the latest big act announced to play what is now the O2 Arena – joining the likes of The Rolling Stones, Take That, Barbra Streisand, Keane, Justin Timberlake, Scissor Sisters, Snow Patrol and Prince, whose record-breaking residency at the North Greenwich venue has just been increased from 15 to 21 shows.

The jaw-dropping first-season line-up, which has so far netted more than 1m ticket sales pre-opening, represents a sweet victory for AEG Europe president and CEO David Campbell, whose company has invested nearly £505m in the project, £175m of which has been on the O2 Arena.

"Someone said to me in an interview, ‘You must have done a lot of research into the fact that this has a lot of bad stigma attached to it.’ I said we did absolutely none whatsoever, because you’d have to be an idiot not to figure out that it was a white elephant under its previous guise," says Campbell.

"But we haven’t gone in to just be a bit better than somewhere else. We’ve gone in to set a new standard in terms of what can happen. I think this will transform indoor live entertainment in London, and indeed in Europe."

The O2 Arena will host approximately 150 shows in its first year, operating in two modes. When operating "in the round", for the likes of Justin Timberlake and Prince, 360° seating will accommodate 16,000–18,000 people, while a standard set-up can accommodate 8,000 to 15,000 fans, depending on sight lines.

The arena boasts 98 corporate boxes, almost all of which have been sold, at annual prices ranging from £110,000 to £150,000. Companies who have bought suites so far include Morgan Stanley, Red Bull, RBS, BT and KPMG.

In addition, AEG has produced one of the most technologically-advanced arenas in Europe. Having partners such as O2, AOL and NEC has allowed the venue to install a raft of features allowing for Bluetooth connectivity, smart-card chip technology for electronic ticketing and multiple easy access points for film crews.

"Every inch of the place is wireless-enabled by O2," says AEG Enterprises managing director Jessica Koravos. "Because this is a new building, rather than a re-fit, there are electronic panels everywhere which film crews can use. People can just plug in to shoot videos. You don’t have to run cables everywhere. We’ve already had a lot of enquiries from bands wanting to shoot their videos or DVDs here."

Yet the arena itself is just one part of the O2 project. In a bid to overcome the fact that, for all its strengths, the O2 is in the middle of London’s Docklands, AEG has set out to create a complete destination.

The O2 complex will offer more than 20 restaurants and bars, as well as a museum, an 11-screen cinema boasting the second biggest screen in London, and – crucially for the music sector – a 2,300-capacity sister venue in the form of the Indigo, which will act both as a location for after-show performances and promotional events relating to the main venue, and as an independent venue in its own right.

Indeed for many promoters, the promise of a new 2,000 capacity venue – following the closure of Hammersmith Palais and continuing questions over the fate of The Astoria – is as appealing as the main venue itself, with artists as diverse as Joss Stone, Crowded House, Jools Holland, DJ Shadow and the Magic Numbers all signing up to play shows there.

"I think the future of indoor live entertainment is all about entertainment destinations where you’ve got more than one activity all together," says Campbell. "It used to be that you had shops scattered on the high street and then you had shopping centres. You had individual cinema screens and then you had multiplexes. We’re only doing the same thing in terms of grouping for a destination.

"I think, going to see a gig at Wembley Arena, people want to see the show and get back as quickly as they can. I don’t think that’s what people will do here – I think they’ll see a show, get a drink, have a meal, and hang around afterwards.

"The fact that you can go and you have a choice of 20 good bars, restaurants and cafés to go to should mean that people will go in their own right for that, or they’ll just go to see a film, or to see a gig at Indigo or to see the Tutankhamun exhibition. It’s not just the arena events that will drive people into it."

Metropolis Music founder Bob Angus adds, "I don’t see it being problematic location-wise. Location isn’t a problem when you’ve got artists of that calibre launching it. People have this view of what it was like six or seven years ago, but the new venue is forward-thinking and more prominent. I think it’s going to be a wonderful arena, which will be well received in London."

While the venue has – in contrast to to Wembley Stadium – managed to remain both on time and on budget, AEG has nevertheless had to deal with challenges along the way. "The key problem we’ve faced has been building an arena with a four-metre height difference between the top of the tent and the roof of the arena," says AEG Live senior vice president Rob Hallett. "It meant using cranes has been out of the question, so we’ve had to winch up the roof.

"The second problem has been being over the Blackwall Tunnel and making sure we didn’t affect that while working. And the third thing has been managing the sheer number of buildings in here – we’ve built a village 20 acres in size. The logistical planning, just scheduling the planning, was an enormous production."

But, despite the scale of the project, promoters are hailing the venue as a remarkable success. "They’ve done an amazing job at The O2," says Live Aid and Live 8 promoter Harvey Goldsmith, who – as a consultant to AEG – was at the heart of the plans to create an entertainment destination at the former Millennium Dome. "It looks fantastic and it marks the first time that London will have a custom-built arena that everyone can be proud of. I, personally, am very proud of being involved in coming up with a solution for the Dome that worked."

"You don’t spend that much money on producing a venue when you’re a company as experienced as AEG and come up with something that isn’t going to be a spectacular," adds Live Nation UK managing director Stuart Galbraith. "I think it’s going to be probably the best arena that we have in Europe and a welcome addition to the complement of venues we have in London.

"Two years ago, Wembley was in refurbishment, we didn’t have a proper arena in the capital, we didn’t have a stadium that we could do concerts in. We’ve gone from that to having Wembley Arena fantastically refurbished, Wembley Stadium up and running, and now the O2 coming online. It’s a good time to be a concert promoter in London."

its a great article, 02 sounds exciting. I love the choice of restaurants and cinemas and the Tutankahman exhibition sounds interesting
[Edited 6/19/07 12:16pm]

The only problem I can see with O2 is going to be getting out of there after the concerts or aftershows. Just imagine the nightmare of trying to get on a tube or train after a Wembley Arena gig, and double it.

Cabs are gonna make a killing!

Rico said:

That's exactly why I booked a hotel at walking distance (10 mins)!

Rico said:

Problem solved:

http://www.thamesclippers...ourist/166
[Edited 6/21/07 8:27am]

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[Edited 6/21/07 12:39pm]

Tokyo said:

Any thoughts about this increasing chances of a new DVD ??

akira7 said:

thanks for the link makes getting back home a bit easier