Looking back at 2022: 12 Iconic moments at The O2

Live entertainment has been back in full force in 2022, and nowhere has this been more prevalent than at the world’s most popular music, leisure, and entertainment venue, The O2. It has played host to over 200 events this year, celebrated a milestone for its walkway attraction, welcomed BTS fans for a special pop-up store and fixed the iconic roof after Storm Eunice hit the UK. From pop rock icons and nostalgic returns to world-class sport – we’re taking a look back at 12 iconic moments at The O2 in 2022 and casting an eye forward at what’s to come in 2023 at the world-famous venue.

1) The BRIT Awards – The O2 welcomed back The 2022 BRIT Awards in association with Mastercard, the most famous night in UK music, for the 12^th time, with incredible headline performances from Adele, Liam Gallagher, best new artist Little Simz and more. The BRIT Awards will return to The O2 on Saturday 11 February 2023.

3) Storm Eunice – In February, The O2 became the face of Storm Eunice as part of the tent fabric was damaged during record-breaking winds. The venue’s brief closure was swiftly followed by two sold out shows from BRIT Award-winner Dave with Icon Outlet shopping fully opening a few weeks later.

4) C2C Festival – The return of the cross-campus festival C2C saw country superstars Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Darius Rucker take to the stage. 2023 not only sees the return of C2C in March, headlined by Lady A, Thomas Rhett and Zac Brown Band, but also Luke Combs’ first headline shows at The O2, with two nights next October. 

5) UFC: Aspinall vs Volkov – The hugely anticipated fight between Aspinall and Volkov marked the 10^th UFC event to take place at The O2, and shattered records across the industry, with attendance figures peaking for a UFC fight in London.

6) Up at The O2 – London’s leading roofwalk attraction celebrated its 10^th Birthday in June, offering fellow Cancerians the chance to win a free climb guaranteeing stunning panoramic views and were able to enjoy a glass of champagne at the top.

7) BTS POP-UP : SPACE OF BTS IN LONDON - Pop icons BTS brought an exciting new retail experience to The O2’s outlet shopping destination this month with a huge selection of merchandise as well as an immersive experience with instagrammable areas based on the bands hit songs.

8) Queen + Adam Lambert – The legendary Queen + Adam Lambert played an unforgettable 10-night residency at The O2 in June, which also coincided with the venue’s 15^th birthday.

9) Billie Eilish – Pop sensation Billie Eilish played six incredible sold out shows at The O2 in June, marking her first time headlining the venue. Across her show dates, The O2, in conjunction with Billie, REVERB and Support + Feed hosted Overheated, a cross-campus climate event, which involved various talks, panels and activations about climate change. The O2 also made several significant sustainability commitments during this period, including going 100% vegan in the arena for Billie’s shows, and reductions to single-used plastic through the introduction of recycled PET-plastic wristbands and paper cups.

10) Laver Cup – The O2 got served in September as the Laver Cup arrived in North Greenwich for the three-day tennis competition, featuring sporting legends Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer for his last ever professional match.

11) Shields vs Marshall – History was made at The O2 in October with the first ever all female boxing card, headlined by the hotly anticipated fight of Shields vs Marshall, where Claressa Shields reigned victorious.

12) BLACKPINK – The biggest girl band in the world headlined The O2 for the first time for two shows in November, which also saw the iconic entrance to The O2 light up pink in their honour. K-pop returns next year with ATEEZ headlining in February before Europe's largest K-pop festival KPOP.FLEX in September, which sees three days of Korean music and culture takeover the full campus.

13) Peter Kay – The O2 will be welcoming back the one and only Peter Kay for the first show of his monthly residency at The O2 this December. Peter is the first artist ever to hold a monthly residency at the venue and is currently due to perform a phenomenal run of 29 shows at The O2 through to 2025. Comedy fans can expect even more laughs at the London venue next year, with the inaugural Just For Laughs London cross-campus festival heading to The O2 in March, with a varied range of hilarious content including Hollywood royalty Ryan Reynolds.

Emma Bownes, Vice President of Venue Programming (Europe) at The O2 said: “It's been an incredible year for us at The O2 – from starting out with Storm Eunice, to celebrating our 15^th birthday, and hosting over 200 arena events. We’re proud to have brought such a diverse programme of world-class content to fans this year – from legends such as Queen + Adam Lambert, to inspirational artists like Billie Eilish whose focus on sustainability enabled us to drive real industry change, to possibly the most iconic weekend of live tennis with Roger Federer’s final professional match. There’s been so many highlights, and we’re so grateful to the artists, promoters and partners who have support us this year. 2023 will be even bigger for us, with some amazing acts already announced – including our first monthly residency with Peter Kay, Elton John, the very first JFL LONDON and much more.’

2023 is set to be an exciting year at The O2, with residencies from Elton John and Peter Kay, a rock resurgence with Panic! at The Disco, Paramore and Blink-182 each playing two shows at the venue, more cross-campus events than ever before covering a broad range of music – from the country classic C2C to Europe’s largest K-POP festival K.FLEX, and the inaugural JFL LONDON comedy festival. Fans can also enjoy first time headline performances from the likes of Lizzo, Tom Grennan and Dermot Kennedy, as well as the venue’s first 5-hour drum and bass set by Andy-C. There are also new openings from Wetherspoon and iFly Indoor skydiving, adding even more to do under one iconic roof at The O2.

A full day out destination, The O2 is also home to roofwalk attraction Up at The O2, outlet shopping with up to 70% off over 60 designer brands, over 30 bars and restaurants and a range of leisure attractions including Hollywood Bowl, Oxygen Freejumping, TOCA Social, London’s largest cinema, Cineworld, and much more. Located just 15 minutes from central London, The O2 is easily accessible by road, tube or boat.