Man who transformed Millennium Dome pinpoints where next London arena could be
The developer who transformed the Millennium Dome into the O2 arena has revealed where in London he wants to build a new venue.
Tim Leiweke, who has just built the new co-op Live in Manchester, said he is 'hyper-focused' on London, naming Hammersmith as the next best place to build a super venue.
He said: 'We could accomplish something unbelievable in London. I'm bullish on the UK, and London is biggest and best music market in the world. '
Tim, who is the chief executive of of Oak Valley group, said the new arena would be best placed in the north or west of the city, naming Hammersmith as one option.
This would provide a shorter route to the venue than the one in Wembley currently allows for.
But it is not known where in Hammersmith the arena could be built.
His plans to build to the west of the capital comes as residents resoundingly reject to concert venue The Sphere being built in Stratford, east London.
It had a planned capacity of 21,000, but was cut over concerns with light pollution. More Trending
Tim admitted building another arena in London would 'take a little more time' compared to other major global cities, but the result would be 'worth it'.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan recently announced his plans for a London 2040 Olympic bid, and more arenas would only help this.
Tim told The Times: 'If you look at Los Angeles which is hosting the 2028 Olympic Games, the arenas are part of that offier.
'If there really is a desire to bid for these world events, you need world-class arenas.'
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Eurostar in talks over double-decker train service on cross-Channel route
MORE: Baby Elsa update: Police narrow down search for parents of abandoned baby to 400 homes in east London
MORE: Two new raven chicks arrive at Tower of London 'to keep the kingdom safe'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
BTS fan caught trying to break into band member Jungkook's home
A woman obsessed with K-pop group BTS has been caught trying to break into band member Jungkook's home just hours after he completed military Chinese woman in her 30s was seen punching random numbers on a combination lock outside Jungkook's apartment in Seoul at about 23:20 local time (14:00 GMT) on Wednesday, police had confessed to flying into Korea to see the singer, but ended up getting arrested for along with three other bandmates, were discharged from mandatory military service this week, prompting fan frenzy and increasing anticipation for a possible comeback. All seven BTS members are set to be discharged from the military by the end of this month and their agency Hybe has hinted at a reunion. They went on hiatus in 2022 at the height of their global of fans, some whom flew in from overseas, had gathered in front of Hybe's headquarters to celebrate their idols' return. Many of them were dressed in purple, BTS' signature colour, and carried large banners and photographs of the thanked fans for travelling to see him, adding that he was "a bit embarrassed" after not being in front of cameras for a while."I didn't even put on makeup," he said. South Korea requires all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 to serve for about two years in the military. Exceptions are sometimes made for Olympic medallists and classical musicians. Before BTS enlisted, South Korea saw furious debate over whether or not they should be allowed to skip the service, with some arguing that they had already served their country by earning it billions of dollars, and that it would be more beneficial to allow them to carry on doing band had previously won a deferral - when in 2020, the nation's parliament passed a bill allowing them to delay their duties until the age of 2022, the oldest member of BTS, Jin, enlisted, and the others followed suit.
Spectator
6 hours ago
- Spectator
OnlyFans is giving HMRC what it wants
Fenix International occupies the ninth floor of an innocuous office block on London's Cheapside. The street's name comes from the Old English for marketplace, and once upon a time Cheapside was just that: London's biggest meat market with butcher shops lining either side of the road. Today, the street houses financial institutions and corporate HQs. But Fenix still runs a marketplace. Some may even call it a meat market, albeit one that operates on the phones of hundreds of millions of users worldwide. Its name: OnlyFans. OnlyFans is best understood not just as a porn site, but as a social media platform with a paywall. Creators – mostly women – post photos, videos and voice notes behind monthly subscriptions. Users pay extra to tip the women, customise content and have one-to-one chats with their favourite models. Not everything on OnlyFans is X-rated, but that's the content that makes the money. An entire ecosystem has grown around OnlyFans since it was founded nine years ago by two British brothers, Tim and Thomas Stokely. One 'e-pimp' explained that successful models outsource much of their work to offshore call centres to give the illusion of intimacy with customers. Low-paid workers in Venezuela or the Philippines are hired to impersonate creators over text chats, maintaining dozens, even hundreds, of relationships with lonely men. OnlyFans' profits are enormous. In 2023, it generated nearly £5 billion in sales – up more than 2,000 per cent in four years. The company paid £127 million in tax last year, £110 million of that in corporation tax. Because Fenix is based in London, the bulk of that cash is flowing straight into the Treasury. For comparison: Britain's fishing industry – supposedly a red-line issue in Brexit – brings in just £876 million and pays next to nothing in corporation tax, while also receiving £180 million a year in tax concessions. We don't think of OnlyFans as a media company (if we think of it at all) and so we ignore what it is in business terms: a staggering success. With more than four million 'content creators' and 305 million subscribers, it would easily rank in the top three British publishing companies. It is perhaps the most successful creator-based subscription service ever. Traditional platforms can't compete – OnlyFans' revenues are twice that of North America's Aylo, which operates the world's biggest porn websites. Britain's sex industry brings in far more to the economy than politicians are comfortable admitting Britain's sex industry brings in far more to the economy than politicians are comfortable admitting. The Office for National Statistics estimates Britons spend in excess of £6 billion annually on it. It is one of the few British industries which remains a net (digital) exporter. Indeed, OnlyFans is perhaps the strongest unicorn (a privately held start-up worth more than $1 billion) in the country. It's more profitable than any other British tech start-up. And it's doing something our other digital start-ups can't: exporting to America while keeping tax revenues onshore. Two-thirds of its revenue now comes from the US, proving that even in a global tech economy dominated by Silicon Valley, British firms can still compete. OnlyFans' success makes it all the more striking that, according to Reuters, Fenix is in talks to sell. Los Angeles-based Forest Road Company is leading a group of investors in negotiations to buy the business for £6 billion. It's rumoured that other suitors are vying for attention and that shares may be sold on the stock market. Either way, one of Britain's few successful exports could soon be gone. It's awkward to defend pornography, and so politicians don't try. Parliament hosts thousands of lobbying events every year – payday lenders, bookies, vape companies, even arms dealers turn up for drinks and canapés. There is no 'sex tech reception'. Ministers fall over themselves to visit impressive-looking factories that are in fact barely relevant. For example, Glass Futures, a research and production plant for the glass industry based in St Helens, was recently picked by Keir Starmer as the perfect location for his speech decrying 'Farage's fantasy economics'. The plant is a not-for-profit that makes £7 million in annual sales. OnlyFans pays more in tax in a month than Glass Futures earns in a year. But no MP would be caught dead at OnlyFans' Cheapside HQ, despite, I'm told, many invitations to visit. Neither has any politician ever defended the porn industry in a debate on innovation, exports or growth. The most recent House of Lords research note on 'the impact of pornography on society' contains no mention of the words 'economy', 'tax' or 'finance'. Of course, money isn't everything. The harms of porn – to women, to relationships, to the minds of teenage boys – are real and considerable. We might well be better off banning the whole thing. But if we are going to wage a moral war on porn, we should at least be honest about what we're sacrificing. The money is real – and it's already in the bank of HMRC.
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Anna Robards is the definition of chic as she turns heads in double denim look in Sydney
Anna Robards looked every inch the stylish fashionista on Wednesday when she hosted an event in Sydney. The former Bachelor star turned heads in Bondi Junction when she stepped out in a double denim ensemble that consisted of an oversized navy shirt with gold button detailing paired with wide-legged jeans. The 37-year-old opted to accessorise her look with a purple handbag and chic heels and added some sparkle with a gold necklace. She wore her blonde locks in gentle beach waves, parted in the centre, at the Huggies pop-up. Anna's outing comes after she exclusively revealed to Daily Mail Australia that she and husband Tim are leaving Sydney and moving their young family to the Gold Coast. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The couple share daughters Elle, four, and Ruby, one, and met and fell in love on The Bachelor back in 2013 and have called Sydney their home ever since. She said the happy family purchased a residence at lavish hotel Mondrian in Burleigh Heads. 'We're heading up to the Gold Coast. We brought a property up there called the Mondrian. They've got different hotels around the world,' she said. 'We brought a property there around four years ago and it's only just settling now. So we're actually going to be moving up there.' 'Everything is happening this week. We're moving up there on Monday. I'm staying for a day and then I'll be coming back [to Sydney],' Anna added. 'We wanted a bit of a change. We don't know how long we'll be there. We're still going to keep our place here [in Sydney]. 'So we will be back and forth a lot for work. We just thought it would be really nice to get away from Sydney winter for a little bit. 'My business partner lives up there too. I've never lived overseas. We've never done anything like this as a family, or even individually.' The Mondrian residences are described as 'coastal luxury' with restaurants, bars and a pool club sitting on the ground floor on the shore of Burleigh Heads. Spa and wellness treatments are also offered on site and all properties have a stunning view of Burleigh Beach. As for her daughters, Anna said Elle is at an age where she is beginning to make friends so is 'a little bit sad' to be moving away from Sydney. 'I think [Elle's] a little bit sad going to the Gold Coast because she won't be able to see her friends,' she said. 'They're starting to get to that age where they're making good friends and they don't want to leave them. 'But I know she'll make a lot of good friends while on the Gold Coast... She's great at making friends.' Anna added that Elle will officially be in primary school next year, which the influencer feels 'nervous' about but says she knows her daughter will 'thrive'. As for Anna's husband Tim, 42, who she married in 2018, he will be handling the initial set-up of the move. The blonde beauty will only get to spend one day on the Gold Coast after they move in before she has to fly back to Sydney for work. She will be attending a Huggies activation event at Westfield Bondi Junction, which will start next Wednesday on June 11 from 9am. Anna has been an ambassador for the nappy brand for four years, and is currently promoting the company's latest 'hero range' Huggies SkinProtect Nappies. Huggies, in collaboration with Hello Skin, has produced 'cheeky' limited edition Bum Masks for parents and will celebrate with an immersive pop-up at Bondi Junction. Anna and pediatric skincare expert Dr Deshan Sebaratnam will be in attendance at the four-day event as they invite parents along for the free experience. Thousands of visitors can receive skincare tips from Dr Deshan, take part in fun family photo moments and enjoy free pastries and babycinos. They will also be treated to take home samples of the new Huggies range and the limited edition Huggies Bum Mask. 'It's cheeky, pun intended,' Anna joked, adding the Bum Mask is a 'tongue-in-cheek' way of Huggies saying they'll 'look after parents' as well as their babies. 'I actually tried it,' she laughed, when asked if she had sampled the product which she describes is a 'face mask for your bottom'. 'Nobody was home. You have to lie on your stomach. You can either get someone to help or you can put it on yourself. It is quite relaxing,' she said.
