Live Nation confirms exclusive deal to host gigs at Olympic Park
Following speculation at the beginning of January live music company Live Nation has confirmed an exclusive deal to host gigs at the Olympic Stadium in east London.
After parting ways with Hyde Park last year due to what Live Nation has called a “flawed” tender process, the live music company will now bring its Wireless and Hard Rock Calling festivals to the Olympic Stadium in July.
The deal with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) also sees Live Nation set to host a number of concerts in the main stadium, which will re-open on the first anniversary of the Games with a raft of live music gigs.
John Reid, president of concerts at Live Nation, said it was “delighted to have won the inaugural contract for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park,” and London mayor Boris Johnson, chairman of the LLDC, added: “Our vision for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has always been as a destination for world class sport as well as major cultural and leisure events.
“The confidence shown by one of the world's leading live entertainment promoters to relocate two of its biggest music festivals from the centre of the capital is a ringing endorsement of out legacy plans.”
Football club West Ham has publically expressed interest in the Olympic Park but it is thought that Live Nation could continue to stage events even if the club take up a permanent residency at the stadium, as the club would be unlikely to move until the start of the 2016-17 season.