MUSIC OWL AWARD: 4th – venue

When I went: November 2008, 26 June 2011, 30 October 2012, 24 April 2013, 5 December 2013, 30 May 2014, 23 October 2014, 11 April 2016, 5 December 2016, 26 November 2017, 28 November 2017, 14 July 2018, 25 August 2018, 14 September 2019, 1 November 2019

Shows seen there: Glee Live!, Nicki Minaj (Pink Friday: Reloaded), Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP Ball, Katy Perry (Prismatic), Pink (The Truth About Love), will.i.am, Muse (Drones), Kanye West (Glow in the Dark), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Little Mix (Glory Days), The Killers, The Muppets Take the O2, Britney Spears (Piece of Me), Muse (Simulation Theory), LM5

Size: Huge

Typical price: Various (from around £20 for upper seating areas to £90 for standing area seats in biggest name shows)

Special points: Plethora of restaurants, cinema screens and bars within the same building

Where to eat beforehand: Gaucho

Comments:

The O2 is a great gig venue and can be transformed to suit the shows of some of the world’s biggest artists. Gigs there are generally very well-organised, with different entrances depending on which ticket you have, and there are loads of restaurants and bars to choose from, even if the most popular ones do get very crowded before shows.

The ease of getting to the O2 and getting home afterwards massively depends on where you are coming from. If you get stuck on a delayed Jubilee line tube or packed bus after a gig, it can be a nightmare, but if you live close enough to get a taxi you’re golden. Sometimes drinks options during gigs aren’t great if you don’t like beer, but there are plenty of bars outside the arena now, even if they are quite overpriced (£8 for a G&T?!).