On the Sunday 8th July I had the pleasure in seeing Justin Timberlake in concert, he was absolutely amazing, and put on a fantastic show with his unquestionably brilliant singing and dancing ability. However, as much as I could go on about the man himself I am blogging today to talk about the venue in which the event took place, The O2 (formerly the Millennium Dome).
The Dome was constructed on the Greenwich Peninsula which was originally derelict and contaminated with toxic waste. It became the largest single-roofed structure in the world with its 365 m diameter (a metre for every day of the year) and 100 m high yellow support towers, making it a striking vision.
I first visited this venue in 2000 when its purpose was to hold a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium. It may just have been my age, but I really wasn’t impressed with what the dome had to offer, and I wasn’t the only critic as the project attracted much condemnation…and not many visitors! The dome closed its doors on the 31st of December 2000 and they remained that way for six years.
Second time around though and I could see that this impressive venue has now been put to good use. The £600 million redevelopment opened its doors to the public on the 24th June 2007, it offers wide ranging areas and fresh, modern conference facilities. The O2 arena stages the main music events with the stage as the central feature surrounded by 20,000 seats. The Vue cinema is an 11 screen multiplex with the main auditorium holding 770 movie fans.
The O2 Bubble is a vast exhibition area which will harbour many displays throughout the year including Tutankhamun’s treasures in November. IndigO2 has a capacity of 2350 people and is used as a more intimate venue for musical events. Alongside all this there are a huge amount of bars, restaurants, private hire facilities and leisure attractions to choose from in Entertainment Avenue which occupies 60% of the floor space.
Each entertainment area is very versatile and technologically advanced making it an impressive and unique venue, adaptable to hold any type of show, presentation, conference or event.
http://www.theo2.co.uk/web/guest/corporateenquiries/eventsandconferencing
