Manchester AO Arena, Victoria Station Approach internal entrance , Hunts Bank, Manchester, England, UK, M3 1AR
Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. The arena has the highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the United Kingdom, and the second largest in Europe with a capacity of 21,000. The arena is one of the world's busiest indoor arenas, hosting music and sporting events such as boxing and swimming.[4] The arena was a key part of Manchester's bids to host the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000 and was eventually used for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The arena was temporarily closed following a terror attack on 22 May 2017, in which suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people, and injured 500 more, at the end of an Ariana Grande concert during her Dangerous Woman Tour. Shows and events that were scheduled to take place at the arena were either moved to alternative venues, or cancelled completely. The arena was reopened on 9 September with a special benefit concert headlined by Manchester-born singer Noel Gallagher. First proposed during the regeneration of Manchester city centre during the 1980s, the structure was designed by DLA Ellerbe Beckett, Ove Arup & Partners, and Austin-Smith:Lord. A large truss measuring 105 metres (344 ft) spans the roof. Reinforced concrete is used to increase sound insulation. The upper parts of the building are clad in purple-grey with green glass. The arena was opened on 15 July 1995. The arena is the only indoor venue in the UK to be built following a layout of 360-degree seating. (London's The O2, formerly the Millennium Dome, also has 360-degree seating, but only on its lower tier, whereas Manchester's arena features it on both tiers). Other European indoor venues built to the same concept include the Lanxess Arena (Cologne, Germany), Arena Zagreb (Zagreb, Croatia), Spaladium Arena (Split, Croatia), Kombank Arena (Belgrade, Serbia)
Size: 4788px × 3648px
Location: Victoria Station Approach, Hunts Bank, Manchester M3 1AR
Photo credit: © Tony Smith / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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