North Greenwich Arena

The North Greenwich Arena is generally known as O2 Arena, but will be called as the North Greenwich Arena just for the duration of the 2012 London Olympic Games. It is located on the Greenwich Peninsula lying just across the River Thames opposite to River Lea, which runs through the Olympic Park itself. The North Greenwich Arena is positioned on the meridian line. It is a longitudinal imaginary line running from the North Pole to the South Pole, which is set at 'zero' where it crosses over Greenwich. The arena location is right at the point of the Greenwich peninsular in east London near Canary Wharf, which is ideal for central London-based spectators as well as media and athletes travelling from the Olympic Park in Stratford. The advantage of using the Arena as a venue is clear, with a number of restaurants and bars on site and a Jubilee Line tube station that has proven it can move fans to and from the venue en masse. The construction of this place took four long years; the first concert held for the opening in 2007 was Bon Jovi.

Fast Facts

Sports Events Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline, Basketball, Wheelchair Basketball
Location North Greenwich Arena sits on the point of the Greenwich peninsula, right on the Meridian Line. It is just across the Thames from the mouth of the River Lea, which flows through the Olympic Park.
New or Existing Existing
Permanent or Temporary Permanent
Number of Events 20 Events

North Greenwich Arena London Olympics 2012
North Greenwich Arena- Construction and Events
The O2 Arena is also referred as North Greenwich Arena. It's a multi-purpose indoor arena situated at the center of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England. It has capacity of up to 20,000 depending up on the event; it is the second largest arena in the UK after Manchester Arena and one of the largest in Europe. The construction of the arena started in the year 2003 and was completed by 2007. As it was impossible to use cranes inside the dome structure, arena's roof was first constructed on the ground within the dome and later lifted. The building structure of the arena was then built around the roof. The arena and the courtyard are independent from all other buildings in The O2 and accommodate entire arena's amenities. The seating arrangement all over the arena can be altered, and the ground surface can also be changed between ice rink, basketball court, exhibition space, conference venue, concert venue, private hire venue. The North Greenwich Arena has been transformed into a sports and entertainment arena with shops, restaurants and many more. For Olympics 2012, the venue will include the installation of momentary items such as tents, signage, cabins, services and equipment in and around the venues.

During The Games
North Greenwich Arena will host Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline Gymnastics and the Basketball finals during the Olympic Games 2012 and then, after few weeks later, Wheelchair Basketball during the Paralympic Games.

After The Games
After London 2012 Games, the North Greenwich Arena will revert to being a multi-faceted music, sports and entertainment venue.

How To Reach The Venue
One can readily avail the London bus network via the Thames Clipper. For the London underground, The North Greenwich Arena is located by North Greenwich station on the jubilee line. By river, Thames Clippers operates river services to North Greenwich pier every 20 minutes.

Some Interesting Facts

This London Games, gear up for some sporty fun and check out the North Greenwich Arena that is all set to wow the spectators by staging some of the finest athletes and hosting the finest sports.