The O₂ Arena facts for kids

The O2 Arena

The O2 Arena Location in Royal Borough of Greenwich
Former names	North Greenwich Arena (during the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics)
Location	Greenwich Peninsula London, SE10
Coordinates	51°30′10″N 0°00′12″E / 51.5029°N 0.0032°E / 51.5029; 0.0032
Public transit	North Greenwich
Owner	Homes and Communities Agency
Operator	Ansco Arena Limited (AEG Live) Europe
Capacity	20,000
Surface	Versatile
Construction
Built	2003–2007
Opened	24 June 2007
Architect	HOK Sport
Structural engineer	Buro Happold
Services engineer	M-E Engineers Ltd.
General contractor	Sir Robert McAlpine
Tenants
2012 Summer Olympics (2012) 2012 Summer Paralympics (2012)

The O2 Arena is a large indoor stadium in London, England. It is located inside a bigger entertainment area called The O2, on the Greenwich Peninsula. The arena first opened in its current design in 2007.

It is one of the biggest indoor venues in the United Kingdom for seating. In 2008, it was the busiest music arena in the world. The arena was built under the Millennium Dome, a huge dome-shaped building. This dome was originally made for an exhibition at the start of the year 2000. People still often call the venue "The Dome." The O2 Arena and the whole O2 complex are named after their main sponsor, the phone company O₂.

History of The O2 Arena

Prince’s stage for his sold-out performance of 2007

After the Millennium Experience exhibition closed in 2000, the Millennium Dome was rented out. This happened in December 2001. The plan was to turn it into a fun entertainment complex. This plan included building a new indoor arena.

Building the O2 Arena started in 2003 and finished in 2007. Before the main construction began, the dome was used for a special event. In December 2004, it hosted the annual Crisis Open Christmas. This event helps people who are homeless in London.

How The O2 Arena Was Built

It was impossible to use tall cranes inside the dome structure. So, the arena's roof was built first, right on the ground. Then, this large roof was lifted into place. After that, the rest of the arena building was constructed around the roof.

The arena building is separate from other buildings in The O2 complex. It holds all the arena's facilities. The arena building itself takes up about 40% of the entire dome.

Flexible Design of The O2 Arena

The seating inside the arena can be changed for different events. This is similar to how the Manchester Arena works. The floor can also be changed. It can become an ice rink, a basketball court, or a space for exhibitions. It can also be used for conferences, private parties, or concerts.

The arena was designed to reduce echoes. Echoes can be a common problem in many music venues in London.

Major Events at The O2 Arena

The O2 Arena has hosted many famous events and artists.

Music Concerts and Festivals

In August 2007, the rock star Prince performed 21 sold-out shows. This was a record-breaking series of concerts. He changed his song list every night, so each show was unique.

On July 21, 2007, the British rock band Keane played at the arena. This concert was part of their Under the Iron Sea Tour. The performance was later released as their Keane Live DVD.

In July 2009, Michael Jackson was set to perform 50 shows at the arena. This concert series was called This Is It. However, the shows were cancelled because Michael Jackson passed away on June 25, just 18 days before the first concert.

Since 2008, the O2 Arena has hosted Capital's Jingle Bell Ball. This is a popular mini-festival held over two nights, usually in early December.

The Canadian singer Celine Dion performed two sold-out shows in 2008. In 2017, she returned for her Celine Dion Live 2017 tour and performed four more sold-out shows.

Ariana Grande was supposed to perform on May 25 and 26, 2017. These shows were part of her Dangerous Woman Tour. However, they were cancelled after a sad event in Manchester. Ariana Grande later performed five concerts at the arena for her Sweetener World Tour in August and October 2019.

Since March 2013, the arena has hosted C2C: Country to Country. This is Europe's largest country music festival. It attracts over 20,000 fans each year. UK, Irish, and new American country acts perform on various stages. The main stage is only for people with tickets. The seventh C2C festival was held from March 8–10, 2019.

Since 2014, the Christian church Hillsong has held its Hillsong Conference London at the arena.

Sporting Events and Other Shows

O2 Arena hosting a tennis match at the ATP World Tour Finals

Since 2009, the arena has hosted the ATP World Tour Finals. This is the final event of the year for men's professional tennis. It features the top eight tennis players in the world. The O2 Arena has hosted this event for the second-longest time, after Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Cirque Du Soleil brought their show Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour to the O2 Arena in October 2012.

During the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, the venue had a different name. It was called the North Greenwich Arena. This was because of Olympic rules about company sponsorships for event locations.

Ticket Sales Records

The O2 Arena is open for about 200 days each year. This is about seven months. Even with this, it sold over 1.2 million tickets in 2007. This made it the third most popular venue in the world for concerts and family shows. It was just behind the Manchester Arena and Madison Square Garden in New York City.

As of 2020, the O2 Arena was still the busiest music arena in the world. This is based on the number of tickets sold.

Prizes and Awards

The O2 Arena has won many awards for being a top venue:

• 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

In Spanish: The O2 Arena para niños