In an unloved Greenwich tent, a £350m gamble takes shape

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Can the lavish and hi-tech O2 venue erase memories of its millennial forerunner? By Bobbie Johnson

Under the tight white canopy of Britain's most notorious building, there is one four-letter word that is strictly forbidden.

While builders beaver away in the days running up to the opening of the O2, an enormous entertainment complex in a corner of Greenwich, south-east London, the suited executives ask only one thing: "Don't mention the dome."

The Millennium Dome became infamous as a £790m white elephant. Underwhelming and unloved, it was closed on December 31 2000.

Given such a background the stakes are immense for the property developer AEG, which along with the mobile phone group O2 as sponsor and technology firm NEC, is attempting to create one of the most technologically advanced venues in the world. Next week, at a cost of £350m, it will reopen to the public as the O2, with the hope it can put its torrid past behind it.

The Guardian was given exclusive access behind the scenes to see exactly how the plan to rebuild, rebrand and regenerate was progressing.

Underneath Richard Rogers's familiar tent, an army of engineers and builders has gutted the old structure. Passing along a boulevard of palm trees to the building's heart you now reach the O2 Arena, a 23,000-seat concert and sports venue.

This is where, next Sunday, US rock band Bon Jovi will kick off the building's new life, taking the stage surrounded by fans on the floor and sponsors in their £150,000-a-year corporate boxes.

"We have created something that gives a great atmosphere, great sound and feels intimate even though it will hold 20,000 people," said David Campbell, the chief executive of AEG Europe. "This is light years different to anything else in London."

The central hardwood floor, designed also for sports such as basketball and destined to be used during the 2012 Olympics, can be replaced with an ice rink at the flick of a switch. The ceiling can be lowered to turn the arena into a cosier 10,000-capacity setting.

That is far from being the only hi-tech innovation on the 80,000 sq metre site, equivalent to 13 Royal Albert Halls. Spinning out in a loop from the central arena, the building also houses a cinema complex with 11 screens. It includes the largest digital cinema screen in Europe, 22 metres across, in a theatre that can accommodate 800 moviegoers.

Another music venue, the Indigo, can hold 2,300 fans and has gigs lined up from musicians including Jools Holland. The structure also houses an exhibition space, restaurants and shops, and there is a small outdoor concert area. Backstage, thousands of staff will touch in and out using card scanners, a system that will be extended to ordinary visitors.

"We're really pushing the boundaries," said David Payette, the managing director of NEC UK. "The largest arena is huge, and from an innovation perspective it's the biggest project around. This building was a tent before ... now it's the venue of the future."

The project has not been plain sailing. After inheriting a national disaster, AEG was put further in the spotlight when details came to light of the controversial relationship between its founder, Philip Anschutz, and the deputy prime minister, John Prescott.

Equally, the decision to award the licence for Britain's first Las Vegas-style supercasino to Manchester was an enormous setback. The casino area inside the O2 has still been built, but is blocked off while it waits for approval.

For all the innovations, backers realise ditching the building's historical baggage will be tough, so they are funding a £6.5m marketing campaign. Stunts will include a talk by former US president Bill Clinton and creating an indoor beach from 20,000 tonnes of imported sand.

"The biggest pressure has been time," said NEC's Richard Farnworth. "A project of this scale and complexity normally requires twice the time, and there has been a lot of friction."

More than a million tickets have been sold to see 150 acts, with headline stars including Justin Timberlake, Prince and the Rolling Stones. A series of Barbra Streisand concerts is expected to pull in £3m for each of its three nights, with tickets costing up to £500 each.

Meanwhile, the corridors, which reek of fresh paint, still swarm with builders in hard hats and high-visibility jackets. But despite the impending deadline, executives are confident that the opening will go smoothly. Their biggest concern could be making sure that when Jon Bon Jovi takes the microphone on Sunday he doesn't mention the dome.


Source
Bobbie Johnson
guardian.co.uk

Image 1: Visitors will walk through a large O-shaped entrance and underneath the canvas into the rebuilt centre. Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian
Image 2: From inside, the changes from the old Millennium Dome become apparent; visitors walk immediately come on to a boulevard of palm trees. Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian
Image 3: There are more than 20 restaurants and shops spread around the inside of the building, as well as an indoor beach - leading backers to call it a "mini metropolis of entertainment". Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian
Image 4: The centrepiece of the revitalised building is the O2 Arena, a 23,000 seat venue that can host music and sports events. Here engineers prepare to raise the display high above the arena ahead of Jon Bon Jovi's opening concert. Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian
Image 5: The O2 Arena will host some events of the 2012 Olympics. The seats are overlooked by the 96 corporate boxes, each costing around £150,000 per year.
Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian
Image 6: As well as the Arena and an exhibition centre, the O2 also houses an 11 screen digital cinema, the largest in Europe. Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian
Image 7: The star attraction of the cinema is a 22 metre digital screen, which will be one of the largest of its type in the world. Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian
Image 8: There is also a 2,300 seat concert and performance venue called the Indigo. It is due to be opened with a gig from local star Jools Holland. Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian
Image 9: Engineers finish rigging up the Indigo concert hall. Executives are hoping the rebranding will erase the controversy over the Dome's beginnings. Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian