Glasgow’s SSE Hydro has been ranked the world’s second busiest live entertainment arena.
The venue – which has a capacity of 13,000 – was second only to London’s O2 Arena in Pollstar’s most recent “Top 100 Worldwide Arena Venues” list which covered venue attendance throughout 2014.
Despite being a relatively new venue, The Hydro has already had a number of prestigious names and events grace its stage. The arena was officially opened by Rod Stewart, in September 2013, with a concert which saw fans queuing for nearly 12 hours in order to get the best spot and has since proceeded to welcome acts including Prince, Katy Perry and Dolly Parton to its stage.
The diverse array of acts which the Hydro has played host to is no doubt the reason for its success and popularity which lead to more than a million guests passing through its doors last year alone.
In 2014, the sell-out stage version of classic Scottish comedy Still Game performed 21 shows at the venue. Just two months previous to this, the venue had hosted gymnastics competitions and netball games as part of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
November saw Nicki Minaj jet across the pond to present MTV’s Europe Music Awards, live from The Hydro whilst December saw the venue transformed to host the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony. Both events brought big names and even bigger crowds to Glasgow so it’s no surprise that the Scottish venue ended the year with a higher audience ranking than New York’s world famous Madison Square Garden.
With over 90 acts including One Direction, Taylor Swift and Take That already confirmed to play the arena in the coming year, it certainly doesn’t look as if the Hydro will be moving down the list any time soon. Watch your back London!
[Heather McCorriston – @HeatherrrrM]
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