Dome fights to lose elephant tag

By Neil Smith BBC News entertainment reporter

O2's Matthew Key and AEG's Tim Leiweke with a model of the Dome

But Dome operator Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) may find it harder than they imagine to alter public perceptions of this troubled venue.

Intended as a symbol of a bolder, brighter Britain, the Dome opened in 2000 with a �758m price-tag that included �600m of lottery money.

However, the Millennium Experience failed to attract the 12 million visitors expected and closed at the end of the year mired in controversy.

In a corporate video unveiled at Wednesday's press launch, narrator Sean Bean says the original Dome "didn't quite work out as planned".

Having paid more than �30m to maintain the Dome since its closure, some taxpayers may feel this to be something of an understatement.

According to Tim Leiweke, CEO of AEG Global, the Dome suffered under the burden of "unreasonable expectations".

Competition

But the venue's white elephant reputation has not dissuaded his company from investing �2 billion in its future.

Mr Leiweke said he visited the Dome three times before deciding, in his words, "to get serious".

Attractions will include an exhibition space (pictured) and an ice rink

On one occasion, he found himself evicted from a London taxi cab after its driver learned what he was intending to do.

However, that encounter did little to weaken his determination to build a 23,000-seater venue that will "blow everybody away".

"The next best arena will be in Berlin, and we're building that too," he continued.

The Dome - which has been renamed the O2 as part of a sponsorship deal with the mobile phone company - may face competition for top acts from other venues, most notably Earls Court in west London.

But David Campbell, chief executive of AEG Europe, believes "there is space for everyone".

"London is such a busy and growing city, with such an enormous amount of music, there is room for more than one venue," he told the BBC news website.

"Clearly we're offering something new: a state-of-the-art, designed for music facility.

Iconic

"Brian May of Queen spoke out a few weeks ago about facilities in London not being good enough," Mr Campbell continued.

"Hopefully, we are the answer to his question."

Queen's Brian May has been critical of London's concert venues

Mr May's comments came after Queen performed at the Wembley Arena Pavilion earlier this month.

"How incredible that London, of all European major cities, has the worst apology for a large music venue," he wrote on his website.

This week's press launch took place on the 32nd floor of a Canary Wharf skyscraper that offered a dramatic aerial view of the Millennium Dome's iconic white canopy.

Up close, however, the windswept and near-deserted Greenwich Peninsula presents a formidable challenge to operators and developers alike.

After four years of uncertainty, many will feel that anything is better than leaving the building in its rapidly deteriorating state.

But one broadsheet journalist sounded a cautionary note on Wednesday. "Rock music is supposed to be cool," he said. "And the Dome isn't cool."

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