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Daily Photo: 27/06/2012 – The O2 is 5

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River Thames at Greenwich

The O2 was five years old on Sunday. Since its relaunch in 2007, the dome has since gone on to become the world’s most popular entertainment venue, hosting the biggest names in music and becoming the setting for world class tennis, family entertainment, a film festival and even international polo. This summer it will become, temporarily, the North Greenwich Arena and be the venue for London 2012’s gymnastic events.

More is still yet to come at the O2, with a new hotel, serviced apartments and ballroom already approved and outline planning permission for a retail outlet mall up before the council’s Planning Board next month.

Docklands and the Dome

HMS Ocean approaching The O2
Being approached by HMS Ocean

Olympic Rings - through the Thames Barrier, London

O2 Arena from the Greenwich Wheel
Taken from the Greenwich Wheel when it was in Greenwich.

The Dome from Greenwich Park
From Greenwich Park

New General Manager at The O2

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THE WORLD’S number one music venue has appointed a new General Manager.

Rebecca Kane has taken up the position at the North Greenwich venue with immediate effect. Ms Kane, who was previously the Managing Director at Alexandra Palace, said:

“I am thrilled to be taking the helm of The O2 in 2012 when the eyes of the world will be on London and we can demonstrate once again why this is the world’s favourite arena. Beyond that, I am passionate about enhancing The O2’s reputation as THE destination venue of choice for a great day out. And I can’t wait to work with the team here to take The O2 to the next level.”

The new boss at the O2 also had previous stints with English Heritage and Visit London.

Work is currently under way on the Skywalk at the O2 which will allow people to walk across the former Millennium Dome.

Council may be forced to pay almost £30,000 for O2 box it can’t use

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River Thames at Greenwich
Money for nothing: Council locked out of O2 box it rents for three months

GREENWICH Council will have no access to a hospitality box it rents in the O2 this summer – despite paying almost £10,000 a month for it.

The Royal Borough leases the suite from O2-operator AEG and tries to recoup the costs through ticket sales, but with no public events for three months because of the Olympics, the council is left footing the bill for a facility it can’t use.

The council won’t even have access to its box during London 2012 itself, which is classed as a private hire of the venue and will see it temporarily renamed as the North Greenwich Arena.

Their five year lease agreement with AEG requires access to 100 public events a year.

A report presented to the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee last night noted:

“The Royal Borough may be required to meet suite lease payment for the period 10 June to 25 September 2012 without being able to generate income from ticket sales. This would represent a pressure of approximately £29k to the Council in 2012/13”

Chairman of the committee, Councillor Mick Hayes, told colleagues:

“It’s a bit rich that we’re expected to pay for the lease and will not have any access.”

The council first started renting the box in 2007, and after a one year pilot scheme it entered into a five year lease. Tickets to events are sold to Greenwich Card holders while some are given away to local charities, volunteers and schools. Others are raffled to raise funds for charities.

A review of the performance of the box over the past nine months showed that there was a £5,000 shortfall.

Council Assistant Chief Executive, Katrina Delaney, told councillors that the council is reducing the costs associated with the suite by no longer providing guests with a welcome drink and by no longer requiring a council staff member to be present to “host” guests in the box.

According to the review by council officers, local charities who benefitted from free tickets to events include Greenwich Toy Library, Demelza, the Metro Centre, HER Centre and Greenwich MIND.

Tickets were also provided to volunteers and members of sports clubs, and tickets to see Placido Domingo were given to “4 people whose wedding [sic] was disrupted by [a] fire alarm.”

Outlet shopping village planned inside The O2

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The O2 could be set to have a brand new outlet shopping mall developed inside it.

An outline planning application has been submitted to Greenwich Council to establish a “retail outlet village” in the the former Millennium Dome in North Greenwich.

The plans envisage two storeys of shops with a leisure offering, such as bowling or a children’s play area above them.

If built, it would be the “first significant Retail Outlet Village within the Greater London area,” say the developers.

“Outlet” shopping centres typically offer products from well known brands at discount prices. Project architects RTKL carried out visits to outlet centres at Ashford and Bicester as part of their research for the designs.

They suggest in their plans that five “zones” could be created, each offering distinct characteristics such as “Main Street” for popular brands, a “Market” for stalls and smaller shops and “The Court” for upmarket, designer brands.

The applicant says the scheme will “deliver the final component of The O2 and complete its transformation into a world class destination for the London Borough of Greenwich,” adding that the increased daytime footfall “will enable The O2 to strengthen as a world leading leisure destination.”

If the council approves the concept of a retail shopping village in the outline planning application, a more detailed planning application will have to be submitted before it can go ahead.

O2 Skywalk backed by Greenwich Planning Board

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GREENWICH Council’s Planning Board has backed the O2 Skywalk planning application.

Councillors gave their unanimous support to the development which will create a dramatic new walkway across the top of the iconic dome in North Greenwich.

Similar to the Sydney Harbour Bridge walkway, members of the public will be able to traverse the roof of the O2 in guided groups of thirty.

The “challenging” experience, expected to take about 50 minutes to complete, will be approximately 380m in length and rise to a gradient of 28 degrees.

Mike Davies, a founding partner at the Richard Rogers Partnership and one of the original driving forces behind the dome, has returned to Greenwich to work on the Skywalk.

Wearing his familiar red suit, he told Thursday night’s meeting of the Planning Board that the Skywalk was “exciting” and “meant to be an adventure.”

The dome was “the only structure in London still clean after fourteen years”, he said, and the Skywalk would be a “perfectly handsome addition.”

Those brave enough to tackle the walk may be disappointed to learn they won’t be able to take a photo of their endeavours. Under questioning from councillors, it emerged that no loose items, including cameras, will be allowed on the Skywalk.

The colour of the tensile fabric walkway has not yet been decided but blue has been used in illustrations submitted with the application.

The proposal received written backing from the Greenwich Society and the Greenwich Conservation Group.

Councillor Hayley Fletcher said the project was “incredibly exciting”. All councillors at the meeting of the Planning Board at the town hall in Woolwich voted to support the application.

The Skywalk, first reported on by Greenwich.co.uk last month, will create 30 full time jobs. Discounts for the Skywalk, which has permission to open from 0800 to 2300 each day, will be available for Greenwich Card holders.

‘Skywalk’ proposed across roof of the O2

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A new walkway across the roof of the iconic O2 in North Greenwich has been proposed.

Visitors to the O2 Skywalk would be able to attempt the “challenging and physical”  walk across the full diameter of the dome, enjoying 360 degree views from a viewing platform in the centre, over 50m in the air.

The walkway would be suspended above the O2 and pavillion buildings for entering and exiting are planned for either end. It’s intended that the walkway be made from a “tensile structural fabric” to mimic the experience of walking across the dome itself.

Those wishing to traverse what was originally the Millennium Dome will don safety equipment and go up in groups of up to 30 alongside a trained group leader, with the whole experience lasting around 50 minutes.

The Skywalk is part of owner AEG’s attempt to “provide enhanced daytime attractions to compliment the existing evening attractions.”

The planning application for the scheme has been submitted to Greenwich Council by long-term leaseholder AEG Europe.

The architect for the O2 Skywalk is Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners – Lord Rogers was the architect for the original dome structure. Suggestions of a walkway across the O2 first surfaced back in 2008.

The O2 contributes over £400 million a year to London economy, report claims

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O2

A new study says that The O2 in North Greenwich contributes £405 million a year to London’s economy.

The popular venue attracts up to 7.2 million visitors a year and contributes £126 million additional income a year to the Greenwich area.

The report, which has been carried out by consultants Why Not and was commissioned by O2 owner, AEG, also claims that the O2 has created 600 jobs in Greenwich.

Councillor Chris Roberts, Leader of Greenwich Council said: “AEG has been a great asset to Greenwich and London.  Greenwich Council continue to support AEG throughout all of their operations and development, and in partnership we have delivered real tangible benefits for local residents including jobs, community initiatives, learning programmes  and access to a great facility.  As well as the world’s most successful arena, we also have plans for London’s first cruise liner terminal at Enderby Wharf and London’s first cable car from The O2 to Excel.”

Alex Hill, Senior Executive Director of AEG Europe said:  “Through a combination of state of the art facilities, scale and quality of customer service The O2 has been able to attract a series of fantastic new events to the UK.  We host the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the world’s best attended indoor tennis event, and have just hosted the first ever NBA regular season games to be held in Europe.  Together with world class pop and rock acts from Beyonce to Led Zeppelin, and cultural institutions like Les Miserables and the Royal Ballet, The O2 continues to be a great draw for London.”

Charity abseiler injured in fall at The O2

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A woman was airlifted to hospital yesterday after falling during a fund-raising abseiling event at The O2 in North Greenwich.

The woman is believed to have injured her arm after falling during the event which took place inside the arena itself. The charity 80ft abseil was aiming to to raise funds for The Stroke Association.

Joe Korner, Director of Communications at the Stroke Association says:

“Everyone at the Stroke Association is deeply shocked and distressed by this accident. At this time, all of our thoughts and best wishes are with the lady involved and her family. As with all of our fundraising events, strict health and safety procedures are put in place therefore we will be working alongside the relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate what went wrong yesterday.”

The Stroke Association is the only UK wide charity solely concerned with combating stroke in people of all ages.

Kings of Leon O2 gig cancelled after tour bus fire

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A King’s of Leon concert scheduled for tonight at the O2 arena has been postponed after a fire on a tour bus.

The London Fire Brigade were called out to the O2 this morning after a fire broke out on one of the double decker tour buses belonging to the band who are famous for the number one hit, “Sex on Fire”.

Sixty firefighters and twelve fire engines attended the scene and had the blaze under control by 11.33

Sally Cartwright, from the London Fire Brigade, said: “One double decker tour bus within a loading bay was badly damaged by the fire. It was quite a large incident and we had around 60 firefighters there at the height of the blaze. Firefighters arrived on the scene quickly and were met by extremely hot and smoky conditions. ”

She added, “Our crews should be extremely proud of themselves – they did a fantastic job today and managed to prevent the fire from spreading. We are now working closely with staff from the O2 to ensure that a normal service is restored as quickly as possible.”

Tonight’s gig was immediately thrown into doubt by the blaze and it was confirmed by the O2 this afternoon that the concert would have to be postponed. A statement said:

Whilst a lot of people have been working very hard and every attempt was made to go ahead with tonight’s show, thorough assessments had to be carried out as a matter of procedure before any decision could be made as to whether the show could go ahead. Unfortunately, once the assessments were completed in full, there was not enough time to set up the show for tonight’s performance.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.