Academy Music Group Limited (AMG) has today confirmed its expansion in Scotland with the announcement of O2 Academy Edinburgh, following the acquisition of the 3,000 capacity Edinburgh Corn Exchange.
A category B listed building with a unique history, the Corn Exchange was built in 1909 and over the last two decades, Marco’s Leisure Ltd has transformed the Corn Exchange to become one of the city’s largest standing, multi-purpose, award-winning venues.
Its reputation for live music began with a sell-out show with Blur in 1999, leading to outstanding performances in recent years with major international headline acts including Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro, Oasis, Coldplay, Faithless, Arctic Monkeys, Garbage, Grace Jones, Radiohead, Paulo Nutini, Pulp, Calvin Harris and many more.
“We’ve been keen to expand our O2 Academy brand in Scotland for some time and we’re delighted to now be in Edinburgh, it’s an inspiring city with a thriving appetite for music and culture” says Graham Walters, Chief Operating Officer, Academy Music Group. “We see huge potential with this venue, it fits with our ethos of investing in heritage buildings, with the right capacity of 3,000 to bring world-class entertainment to the city. It also has a number of diverse secondary spaces, flexible formats and configurations that we’ll be looking at over the coming months to complement programming and events in the main auditorium” says Graham Walters, Chief Operating Officer, Academy Music Group.
Gareth Griffiths, Head of Sponsorship, O2, adds: “The new O2 Academy Edinburgh is a brilliant addition to our O2 Academy estate. It’s a beautiful venue and as entertainment begins to return this further demonstrates O2 and Academy Music Group’s commitment to enhancing the live industry in Scotland, one of the best places to watch music in the UK.”
Paul DeMarco, Managing Director, Marco’s Leisure Ltd concludes, “When Marco’s Leisure bought the Corn Exchange in Chesser 22 years ago, we started with a plan to be Edinburgh’s go-to concert venue and ran over 300 live shows, as well as welcoming 3 million visitors to gigs, conferences, banquets, weddings, exhibitions and parties, creating one of the busiest and most successful venues in Scotland. We are happy to pass on the baton to the top professionals in the live music industry who will ensure it continues to play a major role in Scotland’s events industry for many more years to come. Marco’s will continue to operate and expand its leisure business.”
Academy Music Group has had a long-standing partnership agreement with O2 since January 2009. This strategic naming-rights venue deal sees customers take advantage of exclusive benefits. Edinburgh Corn Exchange will become O2 Academy Edinburgh from 01 September 2021, adding to the existing UK portfolio of now 20 award-winning venues that are owned and operated by Academy Music Group, including Scotland’s O2 Academy Glasgow and London’s iconic O2 Academy Brixton and O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
Academy Music Group has already invested in brand new, in-house, state-of-the-art sound and lighting production facilities at O2 Academy Edinburgh ahead of its forthcoming shows including; Declan McKenna (Fri 03 Sep), Tom Grennan (Thu 09 Sep), CHIC feat. Nile Rogers (Tue 21 Sep), Yungblud (Mon 11 Oct), DMA’S (Mon 18 and Tue 19 Oct), Rag’n’Bone Man (Tue 26 Oct), The Snuts (Thu 28 Oct), Bullet For My Valentine (Mon 01 Nov), Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes (Tue 23 Nov), Bicep (Tue 07 Dec), The Charlatans (Tue 21 Dec), CHVRCHES (Mon 13 Mar), Jake Bugg (Mon 21 Mar), The War On Drugs (Mon 18 Apr), Gary Numan (Mon 09 May), Marina (Tue 17 May), Beck (Tue 14 Jun).
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Academy Music Group Press Office:
Louise Kovács
+44 (0)7866 43 66 36
louise@academy-music-group.co.uk
O2 Press Office
+44 (0) 1753 565656
Academy Music Group
Academy Music Group (AMG), whose shareholders include LN-Gaiety Holdings Ltd, SJM Concerts and Metropolis Music, is the UK’s leading owner and operator of multi-award winning, nationwide live music, club and entertainment venues. For more information, visit academymusicgroup.com.
Academy Music Group venues include: O2 Academy Brixton, London (4,921), O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London (2,000), O2 Forum Kentish Town, London (2,300), O2 Academy Islington, London (800), O2 Academy Birmingham (3,009), O2 Institute Birmingham (1,500), O2 Academy Bristol (1,600 – 1,800 clubs), O2 Academy Bournemouth (1,875), O2 Academy Glasgow (2,550), O2 Academy Leeds (2,300), O2 Academy Leicester (1,600) , Arts Club, Liverpool (500/1,250 full building), O2 Academy Liverpool (1,200), O2 Ritz Manchester (1,500), O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester (3,500), O2 Academy Newcastle (2,000), O2 City Hall Newcastle (2,600), O2 Academy Oxford (1,020), O2 Academy Sheffield (2,350) and as of 01 September 2021, O2 Academy Edinburgh (3,000).
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