O2 World – Berlin

The finest in entertainment

Let’s do it American style. With the perfect show, we can create the ultimate entertainment experience. And this slogan doesn’t just apply to construction, but also the cornerstone celebration for the O2 World in Berlin. In any other city, perhaps a city departmental head and a senior legal secretary would be the highest ranking guests. But on the site of the former East Berlin freight depot, high-calibre stars were delivered. The actress Veronica Ferres appeared bearing a cornerstone box, into which prominent personalities from the worlds of sport and entertainment had placed personal memorabilia and contemporary historical documents. Arnold Schwarzenegger contributed a flag from the state of California, ex-national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann a World Cup jersey, Boris Becker a signed tennis ball. Celine Dion, Thomas Gottschalk and Die Fantastischen Vier delivered video messages. An incomparable celebrity extravaganza offering a foretaste of future events in this ultramodern multi-functional arena at the heart of the capital. “The wonderful Berlin public has more than earned this stadium,” said Jürgen Klinsmann. It will become the stage for top class sporting events and national and international entertainment stars. In September 2008, the O2 World is set for completion on the area located between Warschauer Brücke, Rummelsburger Platz and Mühlenstraße. It will be 160 metres long and 130 metres wide, have a height of 35 meters and a total area of 60,000 square metres. A maximum capacity crowd of some 14,600 spectators will fit into the finished arena. 59 entertainment suites are designed to provide adequate accommodation for VIP guests, while two restaurants and 88 sales outlets will assure the physical well-being of all visitors. An optical highlight is located on the 20,000 square metre façade: a 1,800 square metre LED light spot display with 300,000 image points will transform the front of the arena into a 120 metre long by 15 metre high gigantic display screen. This is even bigger than the largest of the famous advertising screens in New York’s Times Square. And it will inform passers-by and visitors while putting them in the mood for an exciting stay at the O2 World experience centre.
During the first three years, over 300 events for a total of three million spectators are planned. As for sport, the German ice hockey champions Eisbären Berlin will definitely be amongst the main users. Handball and basketball teams from the capital are to follow. Ensuring that the entertainment portion will be just as star-studded as at the cornerstone celebration are the partners: O2 Germany, who has given the arena its name, as well as the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which among other sectors, has specialised in the installation of experiential worlds around the globe and is considered one of the largest entertainment organisers internationally. The total cost of the project amount to approximately 103 million euros, which also covers the development of the total area spread over 180,000 square metres. A working group formed by HBM Stadien- und Sportstättenbau GmbH and BAM Deutschland AG has already started its work. Incidentally, this is a building shell for which 35,000 square metres of concrete and 7,000 tons of steel are being planned. An exciting project for everyone involved, and an indisputable gain for Germany’s capital, a fact echoed by the city’s governing mayor, Klaus Wowereit: “With the new arena, the nucleus for a new city neighbourhood is being created. The banks of the River Spree are gradually being enhanced; closeness to the water is now recognised as a positive quality. Adjacent districts in Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg will gain new perspective through their proximity to the new neighbourhood as well as the environmental dynamics.” And the whole city, as one of the birth places of the film and television industry—as unanimously formulated by the prominent guests of the cornerstone celebration—will regain a touch of glamour. The O2 World builds a bridge to the entertainment metropolises of Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York. Very American indeed.