Shows from Peter Kay, Madonna and Elton John helped the O2 sell 2.5 million arena tickets this year – breaking a record for the venue.
About 200,000 more tickets were sold this year than in 2022, with 216 different shows taking place in the arena on the Greenwich Peninsula.
The first full year of Kay’s monthly residency – which lasts until April 2025 – was among the highlights. Comedy shows accounted for over 480,000 ticket sales, including performances by Jack Whitehall and Trevor Noah and nine shows from Micky Flanagan.
Sales of tickets for rock and hip-hop shows reached 865,000 on the back of tours by Fall Out Boy, Blink 182, Paramore, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes.
Country music shows sold 130,000 tickets this year, while 70,000 tickets were sold by performances by acts of Asian descent including Hong Kong singer-songwriter Terence Lam and South Korean group Aespa.
The arena, which opened in 2007 in the old Millennium Dome, hosted its 3,000th show on Sunday when Tom Jones took to the stage. Other veteran acts to perform included Madonna’s Celebration tour and Elton John, whose Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour called at the O2.
Emma Bowne, the vice-president of venue programming, said: “What has been particularly exciting to see is that our record-breaking ticket sales have been across such a broad range of genres, from country to comedy, R’n’B to rock.
“We’re so grateful to the artists, promoters, agents, managers, and all the touring teams involved for bringing such incredible shows to the O2 arena this year. We look forward to an even bigger and better 2024 with some amazing artists already confirmed and lots more to come.”
Last month plans for a rival venue in Stratford, the MSG Sphere, were rejected by Sadiq Khan because the giant globe would result in “an unacceptable negative impact on local residents”.