People 'just finding out' what was inside London’s O2 before it was music venue
For most of us, London's O2 Arena is the place musicians go when they're too big for the Academy but not quite famous enough to sell out Wembley – but before the famous white dome was known as the world's busiest music venue, it was home to something very different.
The venue began life as the Millennium Dome, opening its doors for the first time on 31 December 1999, but didn't host live music and entertainment until 2007.
So what was going on there in the years in between?
The Millennium Dome, London's ill-fated exhibition centre
For those of us born in the late 90s and onwards (myself included), the famous landmark has always been known as a concert venue, but anyone around to remember the turn of the millennium will know the building was constructed as a celebration of the year 2000.
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Plans to build the structure began way back in 1994, with Tony Blair getting the project underway in 1997 after he became prime minister, which cost £789 million (around £1.51 billion in modern money).
Once completed, the building housed an exhibition which celebrated humanity through three core themes: 'who we are', 'what we do', and 'where we live'.
This was shown through 14 exhibition zones, including Body, Work, Money, Play, Talk, and Rest.
Take a look at some of the pictures below for an idea of what the exhibition looked like.
There was even a failed diamond heist when thieves attempted to steal a £350 million jewel from an exhibition – which was later turned into a true crime series.
The exhibition would be available to the public for just a year, closing its doors on 31 December 2000, becoming a forgotten piece of British cultural history in the years since.
This is obvious from the complete shock most people have upon seeing images of the venue during its Millennium Dome days, with a post on the topic going viral on X back in 2024.
"Just finding out what used to be inside the O2 Arena before it was an arena and I’m losing my mind what," read the post, accompanied by a series of pictures from the exhibition.
"And here’s me learning it wasn’t always an arena," replied one stunned user, while a second wrote: "It’s so funny that the Millennium Dome has had two lives."
"Are we really at an age where grown adults don’t remember the Millennium Dome,' added a third. "The ball pit with guns was ruthless."
Meanwhile, other users were able to recall fond memories of visiting in their younger years, revealing that it also hosted a screening for Blackadder: Back & Forth and a Pokémon Adventure event.
Why did the Millennium Dome close?
After a year of being open to the public, the dome closed its doors to the public, due to fewer visitors than expected and an eye-watering £1 million-a-month bill.
After years of uncertainty, the venue was purchased by O2 and the rest, as they say, is history.
Brenna Cooper