Last night I was one of 23,000 lucky people who saw Kylie Minogue on her world tour for her latest album. There were groups of girls in pink cowboy hats; ten year olds dragging their parents off the Jubilee Line in a rush to get there so as not to miss anything; as well as groups of blokes looking for a glimpse of those famous legs (!) – but mostly it was just people who were there for a good night out and a bit of a dance.
I had never been to the venue before, either as it is now or when it was the Millennium Dome. Obviously with my 2012 hat on, I was looking to see how it stood up to coping with an influx of people. Getting off the train and walking through the station was hassle-free and queue-free, there was plenty of room inside the venue to find your seats due to the well thought out layout inside. Walking up to my seat – which was three rows from the back – I was flabbergasted at the size of the venue.
North Greenwich Arena 1... from the back:
The show of course was great. Kylie had numerous costume and set changes, did all her hits from her new album and old favourites, finishing with 'Lucky' – which the audience went absolutely mad for. I was wowed by the great view of the stage, giant screens and fantastic acoustics.
The entire experience was brilliant from start to finish. Trains were frequent and weren’t overcrowded, and I made it back home to north London in well under an hour from leaving my seat.
Kylie and her dance troupe on stage:
During the Games,
North Greenwich Arena 1 will host Gymnastics and the finals of the Basketball competition, allowing for 20,000 spectators for the Basketball final and 16,500 for the Gymnastics.
A second, temporary arena -
North Greenwich Arena 2 - will be built next to the existing one. It will have 6,000 seats for spectators of Badminton and Rhythmic Gymnastics during the Olympic Games and 6,000 seats for spectators of Sitting Volleyball during the Paralympic Games.
Having experienced the arena at its fullest capacity, there is no doubt in my mind that North Greenwich Arena 1 will be the perfect venue to host these great sporting events in 2012. And although it is four years away, I can’t wait!
