BACKSTAGE A Milestone Month at The SSE Arena, Belfast

With upwards of 120,000 guests, twelve world-class events, and four home appearances from the treble-winning Belfast Giants, October was a milestone month at The SSE Arena, Belfast.

Over the last two decades, The SSE Arena, Belfast has attracted countless international performers, sporting events, exhibitions and conferences, and has established itself as a key location on major European and World tours. Thriving at the heart of Northern Ireland’s live entertainment and sporting scene, the Arena welcomes an extensive portfolio of musical artists, high-performance athletes, side-splitting comedic geniuses, and more through its doors all year round.

October saw an array of world-class shows and live events on offer every single week at The SSE Arena, Belfast. One Young World brought its annual youth leadership summit to the city, Grammy-nominated country megastar Luke Combs performed his first-ever show in Northern Ireland, Scouse comedian Paul Smith returned to the Arena for his fifth show of the year, and indie rock icons Arctic Monkeys played to a sold-out crowd.

Meanwhile, in sport, the treble-winning Belfast Giants returned to record-breaking attendances and a clean sweep of home wins in all competitions to date this season. Facing top-tier European teams in the Champions Hockey League, October saw the likes of Czech side HC Dynamo Pardubice and Red Bull Salzburg from Austria take to the ice at The SSE Arena, Belfast, attracting over 10,000 visitors across the two games. In addition, the Giants continued to compete domestically in the Elite Ice Hockey League and Challenge Cup as they vie to defend their historic trio of championships earned last season.

Claire Cosgrave, associate director of experience at The Odyssey Trust, said: “Across all that we do, we strive to provide guests with the best experience every time, and the ability to offer such a diverse range of shows and events allows us to do just that. I feel very proud of our behind-the-scenes team’s constant dedication and commitment to facilitate and deliver world-class experiences for our customers.

"We’re not finished yet. Before the curtain closes on 2023, there’s still plenty to look forward to at The SSE Arena, Belfast. Ahead of the new year, we’ll see family favourites lace up their skates for Disney on Ice, Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally bring their award-winning podcast ‘My Therapist Ghosted Me’ to Belfast, homegrown boxing talent Michael Conlan returns to the ring, singer-songwriter Hozier’s takes to the stage for his ‘Unreal Unearth’ tour, and much more.”

In another step towards optimising guests’ experience, The SSE Arena, Belfast rolled out Ticketmaster’s SafeTix™️ technology across all events, with more than 150,000 tickets scanned to date. The cutting-edge technology has not only helped the venue to increase the security of people’s tickets but has also played an integral role in the Arena’s move towards placing technology and innovation at the forefront of event nights.

Looking to 2024, the show goes on as The SSE Arena, Belfast welcomes the highly popular three-day Country-to-Country festival to Northern Ireland for the first time, high-octane Arenacross racing, pop trio Jonas Brothers, the hysterical Michael McIntyre, chart-topping global star Niall Horan, Summer of ‘69 singer Bryan Adams, among others. Plus, the spectacular Les Misérables brings the opening shows of its world tour to Belfast, with ten performances across eight dates at The SSE Arena, Belfast.

Claire Cosgrave added: “It’s been fantastic to welcome both new and returning acts to The SSE Arena, Belfast, and we’re incredibly excited about what the next 12 months and beyond will bring.”

For more information about what’s coming up at The SSE Arena, Belfast, please click here.