The O2 arena’s owner and operator AEG Europe has reported tickets sales of more than 2.6 million at the venue this year, a 3.5% increase on the previous high achieved in 2023.

AEG said The O2, which can accommodate shows up to a 22,500 audience capacity, saw a 70% increase in first-time performers this year; with 41 first-time headliners including Raye, Charli XCX and IVE. In total, 2024  has seen the East London venue host more than 200 arena shows across categories including music, comedy and sport.

The O2, which since it opened in June 2007 has regularly proven to be the world’s busiest arena, also made history this year by hosting the world’s first carbon removed arena events at The 1975’s four headline shows, resulting in the extraction and removal of 545.9 tonnes – the equivalent yearly electricity usage of 395 average homes.

AEG Europe said it is also celebrating huge growth at its venues in Germany, with an 11.5% year-on-year rise in the number of events across its venue portfolio, with the Uber Arena and UberEats Music Hall in Berlin, and the Barclays Arena in Hamburg, all experiencing a record-breaking number of events in 2024. It said the Uber Arena hosted 1.8 million fans across 176 events, with more than one million people attending 150 events at Barclays Arena.

The O2 arena, Uber Arena and UberEats Music Hall are all profiled in the AAA Explores behind-the-scenes film series.

The O2 arena SVP & GM Steve Sayer said 2024 is a year that will go down in history at the venue for multiple reasons: “We’re thrilled to report another year of record-breaking tickets sales, which is testament to the diversity and quality of our arena programming, with some truly iconic performances this year from Liam Gallagher, The Killers, Raye and so many others. But most importantly, in 2024 The O2 was at the forefront of driving industry change and challenging norms when we delivered the world’s first carbon removed arena events. In doing so, we were able to demonstrate a new event model which could transform the future of live events and ensure a more sustainable future.”

LinkedIn