Wembley Arena: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 51°33′29.10″N 0°16′58.70″W / 51.5580833°N 0.2829722°W / 51.5580833; -0.2829722
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The arena played host to [[BAMMA]] events on 21 May 2011 ([[BAMMA 6]]), 15 September 2012 ([[BAMMA 10]]). And 15 September 2017 (BAMMA 31)
The arena played host to [[BAMMA]] events on 21 May 2011 ([[BAMMA 6]]), 15 September 2012 ([[BAMMA 10]]). And 15 September 2017 (BAMMA 31)


The venue hosted [[Badminton at the 2012 Summer Olympics|Olympic badminton]] and [[Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics|Olympic rhythmic gymnastics]] at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london2012.com/games/venues/wembley-arena.php |title=profile |publisher=London2012.com |accessdate=7 May 2011}}</ref>
The venue hosted [[Badminton at the 2012 Summer Olympics|Olympic badminton]] and [[Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics|Olympic rhythmic gymnastics]] at the [[2012 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.london2012.com/games/venues/wembley-arena.php |title=profile |publisher=London2012.com |accessdate=7 May 2011 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907152817/http://www.london2012.com/games/venues/wembley-arena.php |archivedate=7 September 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>


On Saturday 16 February 2013, it played host to [[UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald]], the first ever [[UFC]] event to be held at the venue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/182619.html |title=Renan Barao v Michael McDonald announced for UFC title fight at Wembley Arena &#124; UFC News |publisher=ESPN.co.uk |date=2012-12-06 |accessdate=2014-06-20}}</ref>
On Saturday 16 February 2013, it played host to [[UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald]], the first ever [[UFC]] event to be held at the venue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/182619.html |title=Renan Barao v Michael McDonald announced for UFC title fight at Wembley Arena &#124; UFC News |publisher=ESPN.co.uk |date=2012-12-06 |accessdate=2014-06-20}}</ref>

Revision as of 21:46, 29 November 2017

Not to be confused with Wembley Stadium.

The SSE Arena, Wembley
Wembley Central
OwnerQuintain
OperatorAnschutz Entertainment Group
Capacity12,500
Construction
Opened1934; 90 years ago (1934)
Renovated2005–06
ArchitectArthur Elvin
Website
ssearena.co.uk

Wembley Arena

indoor arena in Wembley, London
.

History

Empire Pool Wembley on the first day of the 1938 European Aquatics Championships.

It was built for the 1934 British Empire Games at Wembley, by Arthur Elvin, and originally housed a swimming pool, as reflected by its former name, Empire Pool. The pool itself was last used for the 1948 Summer Olympics. The building is used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport.

The venue was renovated, along with Wembley Stadium, as part of the early-21st-century regeneration of the Wembley Park area. The arena refurbishment cost £35m and the new arena opened to the public on 2 April 2006, with a concert by the English electronic-music band Depeche Mode.

With 12,500 seats, it is London's second-largest indoor arena after The O2.

In September 2013, it was announced that AEG Facilities had signed a 15-year contract to operate the arena.[3]

The arena in SSE colours

The building was renamed The SSE Arena on 1 June 2014 after SSE plc bought the naming rights to the venue for 10 years.[4]

When the venue was known as the Empire Pool, it hosted the annual

The Grateful Dead, Status Quo, The Who, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, were among many others. The individual performances were then finished by a famous personality joining the respective performer on stage and presenting them with their award. The Beatles were presented with one of their awards by actor Roger Moore and Joe Brown was joined on stage by Roy Orbison
, to present him with his own award. These ceremonies were filmed and recorded and later broadcast on television.

Returning acts

The Grateful Dead have released recordings of complete shows from 7–8 April 1972 as part of Europe '72: The Complete Recordings. The Grateful Dead also performed at Wembley Arena on 31 October 1990 as part of their fall 1990 European concert tour.[5] Bruce Hornsby accompanied the band for this concert.[6]

A notable attendance record was set in the early 1970s by David Cassidy, in his first tour of Great Britain in 1973, when he sold out six performances in one weekend.[7]

ABBA played six sold-out concerts, from 5 to 10 November 1979. The shows were filmed by Swedish television for a documentary which was released in 2004 on DVD as ABBA in Concert.[8] In September 2014 Universal Music released Live at Wembley Arena, featuring most of the 10 November concert on CD, vinyl LP and digital format. After the tour, the members of the band talked about the warmth of the Wembley audience. "It was like coming home after a couple of nights," said guitarist Björn Ulvaeus.[9] A finale from these concerts, "The Way Old Friends Do", is the closing track on ABBA's seventh studio album, Super Trouper. Vocalist Agnetha Fältskog said it was the vibe from the audience that made the track work so much better as a live performance than as a studio track.[9]

Whitney Houston is the female artists with the most shows with 29,[10] Cliff Richard is the male artist with the most number of shows with 61,[11] whereas Status Quo hold the record for a rock band with 45 performances.[12] Irish band Westlife are the pop band with most shows with 28,[13] and comedian Lee Evans 23 performances.

American pop superstar Prince played 35 concerts at the venue between 1986–1998.[14]

2000s

Britney Spears performed there on 10, 11 and 12 October 2000 as part of her Oops!... I Did It Again Tour. She returned on 2004 for four shows during her The Onyx Hotel Tour.[15]

Kylie Minogue performed there on 24, 25, 26 and 27 May 2002 as part of her KylieFever2002. She returned in 2006 and 2007 for seven shows during her Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour.[16]

Beyoncé performed there on 10 and 11 November 2003 as part of her Dangerously in Love Tour. Live at Wembley was filmed during these two concerts.

Pearl Jam hold the attendance record for one show, with 12,470 fans at their 2007 gig.[17]

Bob Dylan has performed at the arena 13 times over his career to date, selling more than 160,000 tickets.[18]

2010s

On 3 August 2013, Nepathya became the first Nepalese band to perform at the Arena.[19]

On 19 September 2015, Nightwish became the first Finnish act to headline the Arena.[20]

On 2 April 2016, Babymetal became the first Japanese act to headline the Arena [21] and set the record for the Arena's highest ever merchandise sales.[22]

On 12 November 2017, the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony was held at the arena. The event was hosted by Rita Ora and featured performances from Eminem, Demi Lovato, U2, The Killers, Kesha and more.[23]

Sporting events

Olympic rings for the 2012 Summer Olympics

From 1934 until 1990 the Empire Pool / Wembley Arena was the venue for the Wembley Professional Tennis Championships which was a part of the professional Grand Slam from 1927 until 1967.

Indoor sporting events such as

Marvin Hagler
, which the latter won.

From the late 1960s to the late 1970s, the Skol 6-Day cycle race was held here. An indoor velodrome of 166 metres was assembled from sections each September. This was Britain's first indoor velodrome. Top professional riders from the European 6-Day circuit came to London, including Eddy Merckx, Peter Post, Patrick Sercu and many others. British riders such as World pursuit champion Hugh Porter and British Champion Tony Gowland rode with distinction.

From 1979 to 1983, indoor speedway was held during the winter as a one off event, with the riders racing on concrete on a 181-yard track[24]

The

NHL teams the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers
for a pair of challenge matches in 1993.

More recently netball, darts, basketball, mixed martial arts and cage fighting have made regular appearances on the calendar.

During the 1948 Summer Olympics, the venue hosted the Olympic boxing, Olympic diving, Olympic swimming, and Olympic water polo events.[25]

The Horse of the Year Show was held there from 1959–2002.

It hosted the final of the Whyte and Mackay Premier League Darts 2009. Whyte and Mackay Premier League Darts also hosted the playoff finals in 2010 at Wembley Arena, when Phil Taylor hit two nine-dart-finishes in the final and became the first player to achieve two nine-darters in one match. The 888.com 2011 Premier League Darts Finals also took place at Wembley.

The arena played host to

BAMMA 10
). And 15 September 2017 (BAMMA 31)

The venue hosted Olympic badminton and Olympic rhythmic gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[26]

On Saturday 16 February 2013, it played host to

UFC event to be held at the venue.[27]

On 21 and 22 June 2014, the European League Of Legends Championship Series, which is a competitive

eSports league in the computer game League of Legends, played its Week 5 matches in this arena.[28]

Between 15–18 October 2015, the 2015 League of Legends World Championship quarterfinals took place in the Arena.[29]

Two NBA exhibition matches were played at the arena; on 30 and 31 October 1993, the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic were the two teams that played.

Square of Fame

Square of Fame

With the reopening of Wembley Arena in 2006, a "Square of Fame" area has been created in front of the arena.[

Madonna, on 1 August 2006.[30][failed verification
]

Transport

The SSE Arena, Wembley is served by

London Marylebone and Birmingham Operated By Chiltern Railways The 92 bus route stops directly outside the arena. Wembley Central station is nearby, located on High Road, providing London Overground, London Underground, London Midland and Southern
rail services.

The onsite parking facility is shared with Wembley Stadium, essentially being the open air surface parking surrounding the eastern flank of Wembley Stadium and the multistory car park. These are called Green Car Park and Red Car Park respectively. There is disabled parking available onsite, at the Green Car Park, at a reduced rate but on a first come first served basis.

References

  1. ^ "SSE Arena Address".
  2. ^ "SSE announces major naming rights for iconic London venue". sse.com. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  3. ^ "AEG Facilities to run Wembley Arena". Wembley Arena. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  4. ^ Sweney, Mark (10 April 2014). "Wembley Arena to be renamed". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  5. ISBN 978-0-19-972863-3
    . Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  6. ISBN 978-1-61713-582-8
    . Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Downfall of the daydream idol David Cassidy". Express.co.uk. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  8. ^ Carl Magnus Palm, "Bright Lights Dark Shadows" (2002)
  9. ^ a b Documentary "Words and Music", Polar Music International AB (1980)
  10. ^ "Search for setlists: whitney houston wembley arena | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  11. ^ "Search for setlists: cliff richard wembley arena | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  12. ^ "Search for setlists: status quo wembley arena | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  13. ^ "Search for setlists: westlife wembley arena | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  14. ^ "Prince Tour History & One Off Performances".
  15. NBC Universal / Microsoft
    . Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  16. ^ . NME. 3 March 2004 http://www.nme.com/reviews/live/reviews-kylie-minogue-8124. Retrieved 3 January 2007. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ "Pearl Jam set new Wembley record". Music Week. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  18. ^ "Still On The Road Index Page". Bjorner.com. 15 May 2012.
  19. ^ Amos, Owen (2 August 2013). "Nepalese folk-rock band Nepathya to headline Wembley Arena". BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Nightwish, Wembley Arena, gig review".
  21. ^ "6 things we learned at Babymetal's Wembley arena show". 4 April 2016.
  22. ^ "Babymetal break 2 UK records". 5 April 2016.
  23. ^ "MTV EMAs 2017 Recap: Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran & Camila Cabello Triumph as Eminem Makes Live Comeback". Billboard. 12 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ "W Tracks".
  25. ^ 1948 Summer Olympic official report. pp. 43, 49.
  26. ^ "profile". London2012.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "Renan Barao v Michael McDonald announced for UFC title fight at Wembley Arena | UFC News". ESPN.co.uk. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  28. ^ "EU LCS heads to London's Wembley Arena!".
  29. ^ "2015 World Championship venues".
  30. ^ "Wembley Arena". LiveNation. Retrieved 4 April 2007.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wembley Arena.