On the 15th March 2013 a few of Lourdes Secondary pupils were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to get a sneak preview of the Hydro – “Scotland’s new home of live entertainment”. Lois, Amy, Ethan, Louis, Conner and Kathleen in S1 and S2 were accompanied to the venue by their English teacher Ms Grehan. The pupils were given the chance to interview Julie McKinnon, Business Development Manager of the Hydro, to find out all about the Scotland’s exciting new music venue to see interview click here.
The Hydro, when it is completed, will have a seating capacity of 12,000 and will host around 140 music events each year. There will be acts for everyone to enjoy as the Hydro has already booked up popular acts such as Jessie J, Bruno Mars, The Proclaimers, Fleetwood Mac plus many more. The Hydro will play an integral role in the 2014 Commonwealth Games as the home for both gymnastics and the netball finals at the games.
The Hydro is due to open in September 2013 and at the moment everything is running according to schedule. It will be a new landmark in Glasgow’s skyline and will be a great addition to the Armadillo and the SECC which are both popular venues. The Hydro will have a verity of food and drink outlets on site and will cater for everyone. The Hydro aims to be one of the top 5 indoor music arenas in the world alongside Maddison Square Gardens in New York and the O2 arena in London.
The Hydro has demountable seating systems and a high standard of acoustics. This was taken very much into consideration when designing the shape of the building which is similar to a Greek ampitheatre. The Hydro will be able to accommodate a wide range of concerts, conferences, and events as well as sporting events and global entertainment and national and international music mega stars.
The northern half of the Hydro will face the expressway. There will be office space and also access for load ins which will enable trucks to drive right into the arena.
The Hydro is Scotland’s new home of entertainment which is designed by world-renowed architects Foster and Partners.
The pupils found out that the Hydro is expected to bring £130 million to the Scottish economy and will effectively put Scotland on the map. It will give Scotland the confidence to bid for bigger and better events.
All in all, the pupils at Lourdes Secondary thoroughly enjoyed their visit and learned a great deal about this fantastic new music venue. We are all looking forward to seeing some of our favourite bands and singers perform live there in future as it will truly be an experience we won’t forget in a hurry.