NEWSFOCUS:Wembley50
Below: The crowd at a recent Elbow gig; Lee Evans joins the Square of Fame.
THE NEW ARENA of Fame — was unveiled outside the venue.
In January 2005, venue owner Quintain Estates Notable Wembley Arena performers have since
& Development PLC closed the Arena for over been invited to have bronze plaques imprinted
a year to enable a complete refurbishment as with their names and handprints. Madonna was
part of the regeneration of the Wembley area, the first of many stars to rise to the occasion,
the first phase of which is scheduled to be during her Confessions tour of 2006.
completed by the London 2012 Olympics. Over the next few months, the venue will be
To ensure that live entertainment wasn’t hosting dates by Counting Crows, Jean Michel
sacrificed during 2005, a temporary structure Jarre, Girls Aloud, Boyzone and BB King & John
(the 10,000-capacity Wembley Arena Pavilion) Mayall, as well as the Walking With Dinosaurs
was provided by Arena Structures and erected spectacular.
in an adjacent car park, complete with a stage These days, the Arena may be facing stiff
supplied by the Star Events Group. competition from an increasingly popular dome-
The refurbishment cost £35m and the new shaped venue on the other side of London, but
venue opened to the public on April 2 2006 “Hello Greenwich” doesn’t quite carry the same
with a Depeche Mode concert. The venue has rock’n’roll vigour as “Hello Wembley”!
since been run under the management of Live TPi
Nation (Venues) UK Ltd. Photography & memorabilia:
Coinciding with the Arena’s reopening, a The TPi Archive, Matt Johns
Square of Fame — based on Hollywood’s Walk & courtesy of Wembley Arena/Live Nation
“Orbital supplied anew communications
system, which Ihad not seen before – HME’s
DX121 Digital Wireless Intercom.Itis www.orbitalsound.co.uk
easily the best Ihave ever come across – +44 20 7501 6868
clear,lightweight, robust and with excellent
volume capacity and control. Idon’t want to Sound hire
use anything else now!”
Audio sales
Alex Clayton-Black Sound design
Stage Management, 2009 TPi Awards
Event comms
10 • TPiMAY 09
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