LONDON — Tourist-baiting punks may try to serenade you in Camden, or chilled buskers may play blues by the South Bank, but London’s musical epicentre can be found standing tall and proud on the Greenwich Peninsula. The O2 – which houses a 21,000-capacity arena bowl, alongside a wider live entertainment and retail complex – is currently on track to experience its biggest year yet, having played host to 97 performances in the first half of 2025 alone.
During that period, The O2 grossed $108.8 million, placing it third only to Madison Square Garden and The Sphere on Billboard’s Top Venues chart (15,001-plus capacity). The most recent Billboard Boxscore Midyear Report sees the arena rank first for total attendance (1.1 million) and show count, meaning it can confidently stake its claim as “the world’s most popular music venue”.
For the past 11 years, GM/VP Steve Sayer has overseen and built upon these milestones, leading the day-to-day operations of The O2 and its adjoining cinemas, bars, and shopping outlet. Notably, during his tenure, Sayer has worked to push the envelope on the venue’s green initiatives, introducing everything from an on-site wormery and urban garden to a run of “carbon-removed” events with The 1975 last year.
The latter was a world-first pilot and involved calculating the carbon footprint of the band’s four sold-out shows at The O2, including audience travel, and then employing carbon removal methods to offset those emissions. “We’ve had a big focus on sustainability here for many years,” says Sayer. “Even though the political climate might be changing a bit, the climate crisis is not going away – and that’s why we want to be at the forefront of trying to drive change in the industry.”
It’s a mission that aligns perfectly with a recent headline act at the venue. Billboard U.K. catches up with Sayer during a six-night residency (July 10-17) from Billie Eilish, for which the arena’s kiosks are serving exclusively plant-based meals. This move arrived in tandem with the U.K. iteration of the megastar’s climate summit Overheated, which took place in The O2’s second 2,800-capacity venue over the weekend.
“We’re open to any greener production ideas from artists,” continues Sayer. Upcoming bookings include Alanis Morissette, ENHYPEN, and Shawn Mendes, with the latter being a U.K. exclusive. Though Sayer says there isn’t another “carbon-removed” show in the pipeline just yet, he hopes that The O2 have been able to “put forward a possible model to the wider industry” and “lead by example” when it comes to environmental awareness.
Here, the executive discusses the diversity of The O2’s recent 18th birthday, the rapidly-increasing costs of putting on shows, his innovation goals and more.
What do you regard as being key to The O2’s rise to becoming the world’s most popular music venue?
“Without blowing our own trumpet too much, we’ve topped the Billboard Boxscore charts – certainly for ticket sales and show count – pretty much every year since we opened. Long may that continue! Obviously being in London, which is probably the most important music market in the world, definitely works in our favour too.
“But I just feel that over the 18 years that we’ve been in operation, we’ve built this incredible legacy already. The main arena has become an iconic venue. Artists also like the fact that they can activate different parts of the site, too: from using our ‘story wall’ outside the venue to engage fans to utilising different parts of the arena for merchandising and other activations. With over 12 million people coming to the site every year, it’s an incredible canvas to play with.”
How has the venue continued to grow its number of bookings at a time when touring expenditure is higher than ever?
“Over the last few years, we have seen a real acceleration in the globalisation of music when it comes to touring. Traditionally our portfolio as a venue would encompass rock, pop, comedy and some sporting events too. What’s happened more recently is this massive increase in supply of talent, which has coincided with the rise of streaming services over the last 10 years, as well as other platforms driving musical discovery such as Instagram and TikTok. The fact that we can sell out shows for artists from all around the world suggests that London has a market with enough varied taste and cultural diversity to sustain our programming.
“All parts of the live touring ecosystem have been impacted by rising costs, but there is a greater demand than ever for these global artists. We’re seeing a new generation of incredible female pop stars come through the ranks. We’ve had Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams, Tate McRae and Olivia Rodrigo at The O2 in the last year, all of whom have been building their careers for a while. A combination of newer talent connecting internationally, as well as a more traditional roster of artists continuing to tour, is what’s really driving the growth.”
When it comes to securing these high-profile bookings and residencies, how do you compete with other major arenas in the U.K. and Europe? And in what ways do you position The O2 to artists and managers who haven’t played the venue before?
“The credit goes to our programming team, who have got such strong relationships with promoters, agents, and managers, as well as an incredible musical knowledge between them. Over the last few years, we have worked really hard at building strong relationships with new, young promoters that are coming through and tapping into that Gen Z focus on music, as well as giving them the confidence to promote a show in a building as big as The O2.
“We always offer these ‘first-time headliner’ awards as a gesture to artists, and the vast majority are delighted to accept it. I think in terms of iconic arenas around the world, it’s really The O2 and Madison Square Garden that artists want to play; when you hit that level, it’s a big moment. From there, artists can go on to play major festivals and stadiums. We talk about our ability to sell more tickets than any other venue, which is a big selling point [for artists’ teams] and in the London marketplace, we can sell more tickets at a higher price than any other market in Europe, really. That’s a big piece of the puzzle.”
What are you hearing from Gen Z audiences, and how are you adapting to their expectations regarding the fan experience?
“It’s a really interesting point, as now nearly 50% of our tickets are sold to Gen Z fans. Merchandising is huge for that audience, particularly for rock and K-Pop shows, and we’ve seen some incredible figures this year. There is a lot of commentary online about whether Gen Z are drinking less, and perhaps we don’t see the alcohol sales as a result, but I still feel that when fans come to The O2 it is a big occasion; their spend goes towards food and merch instead.
“Queuing for a gig is obviously more of a phenomenon with our younger audience, so that’s something that takes a little bit of managing. We do a lot of social media monitoring, just making sure that if there’s any sentiment [around a show] that we need to pick up on, we’re reacting to it in real time.”
In June, The BRITs announced its move to Manchester’s Co-Op Live. What legacy has The O2 left on the awards show, and vice versa?
“We had an incredible run. We worked very closely with the BPI on their sustainability agenda, and that was very much a collaborative effort. We learned a lot in terms of how we can operate an event, and we know that there will be many, many more iconic shows coming through the building each and every year.”
How do you turn a moment like this – the loss of a marquee event – into an opportunity for The O2?
“We’ve always hosted awards shows and that’s been an important part of our brand as a venue, from the National Television Awards to the 75th anniversary of Formula One earlier this year, the latter being a huge production and perhaps something people didn’t expect to see take place in an arena. In any given year, you know, that sort of major, high-profile event will always be part of our calendar and there is opportunity to build on those, those events.”
What are your long-term ambitions for the future of The O2?
“The main challenge is how do we continue to sustain our programming at such a high level. We typically put on over 200 shows a year, and 2025 will be some way ahead of that mark. I don’t think any other venue in the world is getting close to that number of touring shows. We’re continuing to invest heavily in the venue and our technology, improving the bars and infrastructure, and getting fans in quickly and safely.
“We’ve spent over a million pounds upgrading all of our dressing rooms in the last 12 months, to ensure that each artist has got the best possible environment to get ready in and therefore be at their best when they get on stage. That’s an important part of our job.
“On the horizon, too, is our 20th birthday which will be a huge milestone. We like to feel that when the venue opened we raised the bar for the U.K live industry and The O2 became the new benchmark for venues. Now, we have to consider how we’re still changing the game and maintain our market-leading position. We want to celebrate 20 years on top – that’s the challenge.”
