London Olympics Information

London 2012 Olympics Guidance, News and Information

About The North Greenwich Arena

Official site
http://www.theo2.co.uk/

Capacity: 16,500

Location: SE10

Status
North Greenwich Arena 1 will host the basketball finals event with a seating capacity for 20,000 spectators and will have 16,500 seats for the gymnastics events during the Olympics. The O2 arena is a permanent venue and will continue to host sporting and entertainment events after the games.

About The North Greenwich Arena

Earlier known as Millennium Dome, The O2 looks like a huge white umbrella supported by 12 yellow towers, each symbolic of hours on a clock dial. The columns are held in place by high-strength steel cables which also support the glass fibre roof. The tensile structure is 365 metres in diameter and has a circumference of a kilometre and a maximum height of 1 metre covering a total area of 650,000 square feet.

The Millennium Dome was originally built to host an exhibition with a theme celebrating the new millennium, which remained open to the public from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2001. It has been designed by Richard Rogers (who will also design the Tower 3 at the World Trade Centre site) in association with contractors, McAlpine/Laing Joint Venture. The structural engineer was Buro Happold who has also engineered the David Beckham Academy complex. Chemfab/Saint-Gobain was the company which built the world's largest continuous membrane roof, one million square feet, made of PTTE-coated fabrics to cover the Millennium Dome. The far-sighted objective of the Millennium Dome project also included regeneration of the polluted industrial wasteland, the Greenwich Peninsula, into a 21st century community. Like all high-profile projects, The Millennium Dome attracted intense media coverage and generated public and political debates right from its inception.

The exhibits at the Millennium Dome were as thought-provoking as the site itself: The Body, sponsored by Boots, which through human biology and medical science explored the dramatic impact of lifestyle choices on the way our bodies appear and perform; The Spirit Level Zone caught the spectators in awe as the visual marvel explored the values which strengthen the foundations of society and how they are expressed through faith and belief and conveyed the importance of spirituality in today's world; Living Island depicted a British seaside resort, complete with typical beach-fun activities, as it suggested small changes in lifestyle required to be made by each visiting tourist which could exponentially benefit the fragile eco-systems at the seafronts. 6.5 million visitors attended the exhibition.

Millennium Dome gave the appearance of an empty shell after all the interiors were dismantled, post-exhibition. It faced more challenging times after the Millennium Exhibition due to spiralling costs essential to maintain the functioning of the juggernaut. The Dome was in a state of partial closure during 2001 and 2002, with the Government admitting that one million pounds per month were required to maintain the structure. However, it hosted a few events in between such as the Winter Wonderland 2003, which featured a fun fair, an ice rink and firework display on the New Year's Eve. The charity, Crisis, used a part of the Dome to provide shelter to the homeless and needy during the 2004 Christmas period.

In December, 2001, British Government announced that it had chosen Meridian Delta Ltd for the management of the regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula. Meridian Delta is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lend Lease Corporation Limited ("Lend Lease") and British developer Quintain Estates and Development Plc ("Quintain"). It also admitted that the total expenditure so far on the development of the dome was £789 million.

According to the agreement, a joint venture between English Partnership, UK government's national regeneration agency, and Meridian Delta, which will be for a period of 25 years, would develop the Dome as a sports and entertainment venue and regenerate the 150 acres (0.6 km�) surrounding land, and build houses, shops and offices in the area. It was also agreed upon that Anschutz Entertainment Group or AEG, a leading US sports and entertainment group, would carry financial responsibility for an entertainment and sports arena inside the Millennium Dome building. In May, 2002, British Government transferred the 999-year lease to Meridian Delta consortium, which sub-leased it to AEG. English Partnership leased the arena to AEG for 58 years.

The Millennium Dome came to be known as The O2 from 31st May, 2005, after O2 plc (now Telef�nica Europe plc), purchased the naming rights with a £6 million-per-year deal. Development of The O2, a full-fledged entertainment district complete with an indoor arena, a music club, a hi-tech cinema, an exhibition space and 25 bars and restaurants began within the dome structure.

Buro Happold were the structural engineers for the 22,000 capacity state-of-the-art multi-purpose technically advanced venue, the centrally situated North Greenwich Arena. The complex task of creating a building within a building was made possible by consortium of HOK Sport (designers of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium), Watson Steel Structures Ltd. and Sir Robert McAlpine.

The acoustically engineered roof structure of the North Greenwich Arena, which weighed 3000 tonnes was assembled at a ground level and then lifted using computer-controlled strand jacks raised up to 30 metres above the ground and positioned within 5 metres of the existing marquee. The arena's remaining structure was then built around the roof. Some of the seats in the arena have been covered with an absorbent material for sound proofing, and a system called audio-dampening ensures reduced echoing. The interiors of the arena have been designed so that sound can reach to any section in the arena within two seconds. The other features of the arena include two suite tiers consisting of 96 VIP boxes with a bar and tables, 2 standard tiers and Plasma TVs. The interiors of the suites are available in various options as desired by the occupants. The VIP suites are inspired by different music genres and designed by Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone. The Arena concourse is independent of the other buildings in the O2 and houses a food outlet. The arena building including the concourse occupies 40% of The O2 complex.

The versatile venue can be transformed from a musical concert venue to a sporting event venue, or an ice rink can be transformed into an exhibition centre or a basketball venue within hours. This is possible due to a constantly maintained permanent ice rink at the bottom layer of the arena ground which can be covered with an insulating material and turned into a dry surface. A further layer of surface as necessitated by an event can be laid on top of this.

Some of the stars that have performed at the North Greenwich Arena are Prince, Spice Girls, Led Zeppelin, Kylie Minogue, Metallica and Jon Bon Jovi. All the acts have had capacity audiences. The sporting events which have taken place so far are the Commonwealth Boxing Lightweight Championships featuring British Lightweight Boxing star, Amir Khan, and NBA exhibition match between Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics. The North Greenwich Arena has also hosted episodes of TV shows, World Wrestling Entertainment and Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Next door to the arena is Indigo O2 with a capacity of 2200. Innovative acoustics and lighting have been installed within the venue for an intimate and captivating musical experience. The venue has a standing area and an amphitheatre with seating arrangements including table service and a bar.

O2 Bubble is a two-storied bubble-shaped exhibition area, which is equipped with X-ray scanners and CCTV to ensure tight security for the visitors and the exhibitors. The enormous space and the facilities make every exhibition it hosts an awe-inspiring experience, such as Gunther von Hagens' original exhibition of Real Human Bodies - Body Worlds, or the Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaoh.

Cieneworld is a two level, 11 screen multiplex cinema. It houses a giant auditorium, with a seating capacity of 770 and a 25 metres wide screen. Cieneworld Cinema is amongst the many attractions on the Entertainment Avenue.

Visitors can have their appetites pampered in a plethora of trendy restaurants and elegant bars which include Nestlé 'Take a Break', Two Degrees Bar, O2 blueroom and Base Pizzeria.

Interesting facts about The O2

If The O2 was turned upside down, the giant Niagara Falls would need full 15 minutes to fill the concavity.
Nelson's column at Trafalgar square can easily be accommodated inside The O2 in vertical position.
Eiffel Tower lying on its side can fit inside the building