Monday 7th October 2013 , London UK – Southampton Guildhall, one of the South’s largest multi-purpose entertainment venues, is to be renamed O2 Guildhall Southampton in a deal that sees the Grade II Listed Building become the sixteenth venue in the partnership between Live Nation and O2 Telefónica.
O2 Guildhall Southampton, is owned by Southampton Council and operated by Live Nation UK. The partnership between Live Nation and O2 Telefónica, in place since 2008, already encompasses 15 venues, including O2Academy Brixton, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire and the Live Nation owned and operated O2 Apollo in Manchester.
Speaking on the latest addition to the O2 partnership, Paul Latham, COO, Live Nation said: ‘This is a fabulous example of how we at Live Nation work with our respective partners to deliver a great offering to our customers. In this instance, we are combining the heritage and civic pride of our partner at Southampton Council with the vision and talent of our marketing partners at O2, to deliver enhanced facilities and engagement opportunities.’
The beautiful, neo-classical Southampton Guildhall was opened in 1937 and is located in the heart of the city at the centre of the new Cultural Quarter. Truly versatile, the venue plays host to a wide breadth of entertainment including Rock, Pop, Comedy, Classical Orchestras and Family entertainment.
Councillor Matt Tucker, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Leisure Services for Southampton City Council comments: ‘Having this landmark building, as an O2 venue, represents a massive step forward in the establishment of the city’s Cultural Quarter. This new relationship will help ensure that O2 Guildhall Southampton remains one of the most important event venues on the South Coast, encourage more visitors to the city and provide value for the people of Southampton.’
The O2 partnership provides an array of benefits to fans at all 16 O2 venues, including 48 hour Priority Ticket access to shows and a Priority queue.
Speaking on behalf of O2 Telefónica, Mark Stevenson, Head of Sponsorship and Priority, O2, said; ‘At O2 we know how much our customers love music and we’re proud to be adding this iconic building to our O2 Academy portfolio, and to bring benefits such as Priority Tickets to music fans across the Southampton area.’
-ENDS-
For Live Nation Enquiries, please contact Charley Bezer, Head of PR,
Charley.bezer@livenation.co.uk
For O2 Enquiries, please contact O2 Press Office,
For venue specific and Local Authority Enquiries, please contact Mandy Wickham, Area General Manager,
Mandy.Wickham@livenation.co.uk
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About Live Nation Entertainment:
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation Concerts, Artist Nation Management and Live Nation Media/Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenation.com/investors.
About O2
O2 is the commercial brand of Telefónica UK Limited and is a leading digital communications company. With over 23 million customers, O2 runs 2G, 3G and 4G networks. As well as operating O2 Wifi and owning half of Tesco Mobile, O2 has over 450 retail stores and sponsors The O2, O2 Academy venues and the England rugby team. Read more about O2 at www.o2.co.uk/news.
Telefónica UK Limited is part of Telefónica Europe plc (a business division of Telefónica SA) which uses O2 as its commercial brand in the UK, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic.
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