The Metropolis

The O2 should have been renamed the Millennium Dome for the Olympics

Mike Pollitt | Thursday 19 April, 2012 10:25

The decision to call the O2 the “North Greenwich Arena” for the duration of the Olympics was made a long time ago. Since the Olympics are primarily a vehicle for brands to advertise (jaded, me?!), and since BT is one of those brands, this decision was inevitable.

But really. North Greenwich Arena? What the hell is that about. No-one knows what it is, so you have the BBC publishing ludicrous, self-defeating sentences like this:

The BBC has also learned that the million tickets released in April will include 50,000 tickets for basketball sessions at the Olympic Park and the North Greenwich Arena (O2).

It could have been different. It could have been beautiful. It could have been the triumphant return of the Millennium Dome.

It was savaged once, but time heals all wounds. The stage could have been set for a glorious, Take That style return. But something more than a return: a redemption.

“I’m going to watch Olympic gymnastics at the Millennium Dome” could have been the tribune call for a moment of national catharsis, a chance for the structure which failed us once to finally redeem itself before a merciful and forgiving populace.

But alas, this deliverance shall not come to pass. A 2009 story from Event Magazine provides some background:

“LOCOG said it was looking at a marketing strategy to combat any confusion, but use of the venue’s former name, the Millennium Dome, was unlikely, because AEG does not like the negative ‘white elephant’ status associated with the moniker.”

And so North Greenwich Arena (O2) is all we shall have. And the Dome, ever unloved, has lost its only chance to make amends.

BBC – London 2012: 40,000 tickets to be released for athletics
Event Magazine – BT 2012 Olympics sponsorship forces O2 Arena to rebrand

Image: Tiago A. Pereira on Flickr under Creative Commons licence

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