One of London's most iconic venues, The SSE Arena, Wembley, plays host to some of the world's biggest names in live entertainment every year as part of a varied programme of music, sports, comedy, theatre, family and conference events.
The Arena offers a fully flexible space that can be configured to suit any event in fully seated or part standing formats from around 3,500 up to a maximum capacity of 12,500 people.
Examples of sports events held at the SSE Arena in recent years include tennis, boxing, ice hockey, horse of the year show, darts, wrestling and Olympic badminton amonst many others. Likewise, 스포츠중계 TV events such as Strictly Come Dancing, Children in Need and X Factor have featured at this prestigious location. And major artists to have performed in the arena include Depeche Mode, ELO, U2, Dire Straits, Diana Ross and Beyonce.
History
Wembley Stadium had been opened by King George V in 1923 as the stadium for the British Empire Exhibition, which was held in 1924 and 1925. When the exhibition closed the site was considered by many to be a vast ‘white elephant’. It was bought by an Edwardian speculator, James White, who planned to sell off the buildings.
Arthur Elvin, an ex-RFC officer who had worked in a tobacco kiosk at the British Empire Exhibition and had previous experience working for a scrap metal firm, was employed by White to oversee the demolition of the Wembley site. After his nine-month contract, he had earned enough money from the sell-off of buildings to offer to buy the stadium from White in ten yearly instalments. However, facing bankruptcy, White committed suicide in 1927, forcing Elvin to raise £150,000 in two weeks to buy the stadium. He financed this by forming the Wembley Stadium and Greyhound Racecourse Company.
In 1932, Elvin, partly inspired by seeing an England v. Canada ice hockey match, saw an opportunity for an indoor venue that would serve as the largest covered swimming pool in the world, as well as being able to accommodate ice hockey, skating, boxing and wrestling, amongst many other shows, exhibitions and events.
