Barclaycard Arena, Hamburg, Germany.
Behind the year-end headlines of terrorism and tragedy in Paris, the sports and entertainment business at European venues has continued to thrive and grow. The continent’s diverse venues remain popular destinations for locals, expats and tourists.
With a number of facilities upgrading technology, refurbishing suites and VIP areas, and expanding event options to include more family shows and sporting events, 2016 promises to be an exciting time for European entertainment.
England
Most recently, The O2 in London has undertaken a $3.8-million refit of its VIP offering with a redeveloped American Express Invites Lounge as well as the opening of NY-LON, a bar commemorating Virgin Atlantic and Delta Airways’ partnerships in offering New York to London routes.
The O2 also houses the largest Elvis exhibition staged outside the U.S., with items shipped directly from Graceland.
“In the last year, some of the biggest shows we’ve enjoyed have been our residencies, which we class as five nights or more,” said Rebecca Kane Burton, The O2’s general manager. “These have included Take That, One Direction, U2 and comedian Michael McIntyre.”
In 2016, the 453-room InterContinental London — The O2 will open and feature Europe’s largest ballroom.
Opened in 2007, The O2 replaced the former Millennium Dome that had shut in 2001. Owned and operated by AEG, the 20,000 capacity arena is home to smaller venues, including Indigo at The O2, Brooklyn Bowl and Building Six. In 2014-15, The O2 reported 168 event days with 194 individual performances in the arena.
Located in Hammersmith, West London, Eventim Apollo opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace Cinema. The facility was designed in the Art Deco style by renowned theatre architect Robert Cromie, who also designed the Prince of Wales Theatre in Central London. Eventim accommodates 3,617 seated and 5,252 standing.
Over the years, the venue underwent many name and ownership changes as well refurbishings, including a 2003 alteration that removed stalls to accommodate both standing and seated events and the 2006 reinstatement of its original organ.
In 2007, Eventim Apollo was bought by MAMA Group, a UK-based entertainment company that entered into a joint venture with HMV in 2009 to jointly run 11 live music venues across the UK.
Six years later, the venue changed hands, with AEG Live and Eventim investing millions to re-create the venue's 1932 Art Deco design.
Phase one of the refurbishment included fixtures and fittings to original designs, restorations of the ornate plasterwork and historically-sensitive decoration to match the original paint scheme.
The renovation also revived the two marble staircases previously concealed beneath the extended stage as well as restoration of the original foyer floor mosaic panels. New multicolored LED lighting on the facade also was added.
At present, Eventim Apollo has 165 shows scheduled through 2015, with predictions of exceeding this amount next year.
The NEC Group owns both the 15,800-capacity Barclaycard Arena and 15,597-capacity Genting Arena in the UK, which have been transformed with over $83.5-million worth of investment in the last six years.
While Barclaycard Arena benefits from its location in the city center, The Genting is accessible by rail, air and roadways, and also located adjacent to the $227.6-million Resorts World Birmingham, the UK’s first fully integrated leisure and entertainment complex.
In 2014, Barclaycard Arena underwent its $39.4-million redevelopment that included a new glass façade overlooking the Brindleyplace canal side development, nearly 64,500 sq. ft. of pre/post show space, the installation of new food and drink options plus upgraded seating.
This October, hospitality provider Amplify launched the refurbished $759,000 Lakeside Lounge at the Genting Arena.
“The first round of the 2016 Davis Cup has been big event wins for Genting Arena and Barclaycard Arena respectively, plus Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow has chosen to bring his 2016 tour to Genting Arena for his only UK gig,” said Phil Mead, MD of NEC Group Arenas. Both arenas reported a combined 207 performances in 2015.
A big initiative for the arenas in 2016 is content development. This December, the Barclaycard Arena will host The World’s Biggest Pantomime, the first production of its kind.
“It’ll include the biggest ever pantomime stage and a cast of 100, which rivals a West End/Broadway production,” said Mead.
Germany
The 12,690-capacity König-Pilsener Arena, located in The Ruhr Area in West Germany, benefits from the more than 15 million people who live within a 60-minute drive from the venue.
“In Oberhausen, we have a reputation for being easy to book, load in and sell out,” said Florian Wels, manager of PR and event promotion for SMG Entertainment Deutschland GmbH, which operates the venue.
This year, the venue signed a long-standing contract with Ticketmaster Germany.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2016, König-Pilsener Arena hosts 100 events and shows annually.
“Our proximity to other countries, like France, Belgium and The Netherlands, attracts an international audience,” said Wels.
In addition to hosting the German National Ice Hockey Team for two games in April 2016, the arena will continue its digitization upgrade. This includes the installation of 19 digital screens to advertise inside the venue.
Hamburg is Germany’s second largest city and also one of its wealthiest. Its Barclaycard Arena has benefited from the region’s very high-buying power.
“We also reach a lot of people outside of Hamburg, from up north in Kiel or Lübeck to Hanover or Wolfsburg in the south; from Bremen in the west to Magdeburg in the east,” said Kai Müller, the arena’s senior event manager/program coordinator. “Even people from Berlin come to our arena for certain events.”
In 2014, Barclaycard Arena reported 81 concerts and shows and a total of 139 events. Approximately 135 events are on the roster for 2016.
“Our flexible curtain system gives us opportunities many other arenas our size don’t have, whether it’s accommodating an event for 3,000 or a big show with 16,000 fans,” said Müller.
The arena has undergone major upgrades in the last few years, including the addition of a 360-degree LED board in the inner bowl, upgraded camera system, remodel of 24 suites and addition of a show suite. A new annex also was built to house premium and suite guests.
“In 2016, we will add some new formats, especially new children’s shows and movie and orchestra events,” said Müller. “Comedy is a big thing for next year, and approximately 25 acts will play at our arena for the first time.”
Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena will soon be the center of a new urban quarter currently being developed on the surrounding 44.5 acres.
With a total capacity of 17,000, the venue’s convertible arena surface accommodates basketball, hockey, concerts and other live entertainment events.
“The biggest events this year were the four U2 Shows and the two Madonna shows, Euro Basket 2015 and the World Championship Final for League of Legends,” said Michael Hapka, the arena’s general manager. “We had a total of 141 events this year and expect to land as many in 2016.”
Home to one of the world’s largest architectural LED lighting grids at 1,390 square meters, the Mercedes-Benz Arena recently expanded its guest and hospitality areas by adding the Diamond Ballroom, Sportsbar, After Show Bar, Game Day Lounge and Danneman Lounge smokers’ terrace. Plans also are underway to update its Wi-Fi system.
“We observe tendencies on the ticketing side, with new companies entering the business to get market shares,” said Hapka. “This requires a lot of marketing power to get through to ticket buyers.”
With more artists independently promoting their tours, selling their music, merchandising and selling their concert tickets directly, like other venues, Mercedes-Benz Arena has had to make adjustments.
“From our venue perspective, we are happy to work with every structure that the artist has chosen to bring their shows on tour,” said Hapka.
Belgium
As the largest venue in Belgium, the 22,792-capacity Sportpaleis in Antwerp hosted the largest audience worldwide for U2’s recent tour.
Although the Belgian market is divided into two parts — French speaking in the south and Flemish speaking in the north, both regions spend a significant amount on entertainment.
“Each part is different, yet homogenous,” said Jan Van Esbroeck, MD/booking for Sportpaleis. “We have splendid promoters, which we support by our own six-person communication department."
The venue completed a $27-million refurbishment in 2013. It reported 71 shows between November 2015 and October 2015 that attracted a total of 661,942 attendees.
Big sellers included Depeche Mode at 21,165; Beyonce at 20,304; Prince at 20,454; Lady Gaga at 20,941; Dutch singing duo Clouseau at 20,960 ; and Belgian DJs Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike at 20,668.
The sole mid-sized venue in Flanders, the 8,071 capacity Lotto Arena hosts national and international artists.
“We house concerts, family entertainment and sports, each about a third of the 100 activities a year,” said Van Esbroeck.
The 10-year-old venue averages about 315,000 visitors annually.
Its biggest shows in 2015 included Oscar and the Wolf at 7,098; OneRepublic at 5,649; Charles Aznavour at 5,079; Ladies of Soul at 5,490; The Script at 7,025; and Roxette at 6,689.
Situated in the south of Brussels, Forest National serves both the Flemish and French market of 11 million people.
The 40-year-old circular venue can modulate from 1,800 seats to a 8,388 full house concert hall.
“We just finished a 2 million euro [$2.1 million] investment in security and comfort for the audience,” said Van Esbroeck. “We are waiting for a new 15-year license in order to continue investing in more [amenities], including bathrooms and food and beverage areas.”
Holding an average of 85 concerts a year that attract about 450,000 visitors, Forest National’s 2015 sellouts included Ed Sheeran; Jack White; and Pascal Ibispo among others.
For the last two years, Forest National has concentrated its marketing on attracting more sporting events, including the Davis Cup and basketball finals.
Switzerland
Hallenstadion Zurich, considered Switzerland‘s largest multifunctional indoor stadium, accommodates up to 13,000 as an arena, 7,300 as a theater and 4,500 in a club format. It is mainly used to stage sport events, concerts, shows and corporate events.
The 76-year-old building originally served as an indoor cycling track and was completely refurbished 10 years ago for $151 million. Recent upgrades include new LCD screens and a content management system.
In 2014, income/earnings totaled CHF 22.8 mio ($22.2 million), with an annual profit at CHF 0.98 mio ($990,000) and operating profit at CHF 7.7 mio ($7.8 million).
“The recent termination of exclusive contracts within the rock and pop business has made it possible for every single promoter to book the arena,” said Freundliche Grüsse, the venue’s director/CEO. “Since the beginning of 2014, we have gained about a dozen new promoters in that music division.”
A total of 990,000 people visited The Hallenstadion Zurich in 2014. Successful shows included Robbie Williams, whose two shows sold 13,000 tickets and grossed approxately $2.9 million; and Justin Timberlake, who also sold 13,000 tickets for two shows and grossed about $3.5 million.
In 2015, the venue hosted 125 shows and concerts. Approximately 140 shows are planned for next year.
“We’re planning a conversion of our VIP boxes this summer, with five boxes merged to one large VIP lounge with a capacity of 60 guests,” said Grüsse. “The big lounge can either be rented entirely as a whole, or the seats will be offered individually to the public.”
Italy
Florence’s main indoor venue, Mandela Forum’s seating capacity varies from 7,000 for a sporting event to 8,200 for a general admission concert. It is designed to transform into 11 different configurations.
In addition to rock concerts, family shows, conventions and fundraising dinners, the venue is also home to Bisonte Firenze, a local major league volleyball team.
Its location attracts audiences from outside the region, including Rome, Bologna and Milano.
“In the last few years, the venue has been extensively renovated,” said Dino Lorimer, spokesperson for the Mandela Forum. “Possibly the most important improvement made to the structure has been the sound conditioning of the main hall, which has enabled hosting of unplugged classical concerts.”
During the fiscal year June 2014 through May 2015, the venue has been utilized 18 days for conventions, open exams for recruitment and fundraising dinners; 66 days for sports events and training sessions; 45 days for shows and rehearsals; 60 days for an open air cinema during the summer; and 23 days for a circus during the holiday season.
“The venue is already booked for important events, starting in January from il Volo followed by the International Skate awards and the Orchestra del Maggio directed by Zubin Metha,” said Lorimer.
Interviewed for this story: Michael Hapka, 49 30 2060 7080; Rebecca Kane Burton, 44 20 8463 2127; Dino Lorimer, 39 055 678841; Phil Mead, 0121 767 2411; Kai Müller, 49 04 0380 8 35 134; Jan Van Esbroeck, 32 47 8376 022; Florian Wels, 49 20 8820 0240