LONDON (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Jersey greats Bon Jovi helped to launch London’s newest live music venue, AEG’s O2 Arena, with a sold-out crowd in the massive dome.
With 17,000 fans packed into the venue, the O2 Arena set records on a variety of fronts including unprecedented food and beverage per caps for concession stands of £5.56 ($11.11) and £67.66 ($135.21) for suites resulting in an overall food & beverage per cap of £12.28 (24.54) for the event in addition to selling out of all specially created concert merchandise.
“The overall reaction to the new O2 arena from promoters, artists and fans has been unprecedented,” said Randy Phillips, President & CEO, AEG LIVE. “Having one of the world’s greatest rock bands open a venue that will truly change the live touring industry in Europe was a remarkable thing to witness and be a part of. The incredible reaction and reviews our fans and the media gave to Bon Jovi last night is further proof that The O2 arena will be the must play venue for performers on any international tour. ”
With an unprecedented sale of over 1.3 million tickets prior to the arena’s opening, fans in London, the UK and worldwide will be treated with performances from such artists as Snow Patrol (this Thursday), Andrea Bocelli (June 30), Justin Timberlake (July, 4, 5, 7, 8, & 10), Barbra Streisand (July 18, 22 & 25), Keane (July 21), The Scissor Sisters (July 26, 27 & 28) Prince (21 shows in August and September!), The Rolling Stones (August 21, 23 & 26) and Elton John’s Red Piano (September 5).
Additional bookings include a World Championship Boxing card feature UK Champion Amir Khan on July 14th, an Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) event on August 9th, Disney on Ice October 17th-28th, Disney’s High School Musical on Ice December 26-30, a National Basketball Association (NBA) exhibition featuring the Boston Celtics vs. Minneapolis Timberwolves on October 10th and the National Hockey League’s (NHL) first-ever regular season games played outside of North America on September 29 & 30 featuring the Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks vs. the Los Angeles Kings.
“Beyond revolutionizing London’s live entertainment market, The O2 arena will have an overwhelming effect on the industry by creating a new business model for the development of venues, sponsorship marketing, artist and event promotion and hospitality,” said David Campbell, Chief Executive & President, AEG Europe. “By creating an acoustically perfect arena, our guests are clearly the real winners as they now can experience the most popular artists ever time they tour Europe the UK.” –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
