Posted by the author on January 30th, 2009
On 10th of September the O2 arena in Berlin ‘Friedrichshain – Kreuzberg’ was opened, only two years after its building started.
Primarily, the arena was built for the home matches of Berlin´s ice hockey team Eisbären and their basketball team Alba Berlin but there are also other events taking place here like concerts or other sport events.
On the 12th of September, only two days after it was opened, Metallica had their show here. A few days later, Herbert Grönemeyer sang his songs with a sold out event. This goes to prove that Berlin is a sought after destination with major events regularly happening.
In total, the O2 arena has room for 17.000 visitors and has 2.000 parking spaces. That makes it the 2nd biggest multifunctional arena in Germany, right after the Lanxess arena in Cologne. The arena therefore promises to hold some of the best cultural events in the country.
Around the arena, there are plans to build an “entertainment area�. This means the installation of restaurants, pubs, cinemas, shopping malls, hotels and without a doubt, loads more. That is all part of the Mediaspree- building project which aims to build media and communication centres all around the edge of the arena.
Beside the major events taking place within the arena, the catering is very important for it. There are 330 people working in 31 kitchens to serve special dishes. The leader is Markus Herbicht who was already responsible for several catering projects in luxury hotels. It’s therefore worth visiting just to taste the food.
The construction of the arena has been a controversial issue throughout the country as many people have opposed its creation. The major reason was that due to the construction some of the listed East Side Gallery had to be destroyed. Therefore, there were some demonstrations during the opening. However, this has not upset the creation and so far, there has been great success.
If you come to Berlin to visit one of the concerts taking place in the arena, you should take the chance and stay some nights in the capital of Germany. There are plenty of accommodation options (Unterkünfte Berlin) from where you can start your tour around Berlin. It depends on when you want to travel, but apartments (Ferienwohnung Berlin) are often cheaper than a Hotel Berlin. Especially during the main season a lot of hotels are booked out but apartments are generally available.
So enjoy your trip to Berlin