The O2 Belfast

The O2 Belfast is an entertainment, education, and leisure destination located within the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Operated by The Odyssey Trust – the charity established to oversee, manage, and continue the development of Northern Ireland's Landmark Millennium Project – the site's naming rights are owned by telecommunications company O2, part of Virgin Media O2, over a 10-year agreement.

The O2 Belfast
Complex seen from Clarendon Dock (c. 2008)
Interactive map of the The O2 Belfast area
Former names	Landmark Millennium Project (planning/construction) Odyssey Centre (2000–2013) Odyssey (2013–2026)
General information
Location	Titanic Quarter, 2 Queen's Quay Belfast BT3 9QQ Northern Ireland
Coordinates	54°36′15″N 5°54′54″W
Groundbreaking	June 1998 (1998-06)
Opened	2 December 2000 (2000-12-02)
Inaugurated	29 November 2001 (2001-11-29)
Renovated	2015
Cost	£120 million
Renovation cost	£3 million
Client	Belfast Giants (EIHL) (2001–present)
Owner	The Odyssey Trust Company Ltd
Design and construction
Architect	Consarc Design Group
Developer	Delap & Waller, Tavakoli Associates
Structural engineer	Ballykine
Services engineer	RPS Group
Other designers	Teather Walls Architects
Main contractor	Farrans Construction, Gilbert-Ash
Renovating team
Architect	H.J. Lyons Architects
Structural engineer	Turley & Associates
Services engineer	RPS Group
Other information
Seating capacity	11,200
Parking	1,500 spaces
Website
theo2belfast.com

The concept of the complex originated in 1992 and was finalised in June 1998. It opened in December 2000, with expansions in March and May 2001.

With a capacity of up to 11,200 people, The O2 Belfast houses Northern Ireland's largest indoor arena, which is home to the Belfast Giants – the only professional ice hockey team on the island of Ireland. Alongside its live entertainment offering, The O2 Belfast is home to the award-winning W5 at The O2 education centre (formerly known as the W5 Science and Discovery Centre). Adjacent to W5 is W5 LIFE (Learning Innovation for Everyone), a digital learning hub which opened its doors in 2022, and a big food, beverage and entertainment area which includes a Cineworld cinema, a bowling alley, a crazy golf course, arcade and a range of restaurants, shops, and bars, that part was previously known as the Odyssey Pavillion, then Odyssey Place.

History

Arena logo used from 2000 to 2015

The Odyssey Centre was 50% funded by a £45m grant from the Millennium Commission as part of the Landmark Project for Northern Ireland, with matched funding from the Department of Education for Northern Ireland, the Sheridan Group, and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. The application to the Millennium Commission was led by the Ulster Museum, which wished to develop a science centre and teamed up with Peter Curistan, who wished to develop an IMAX, and then led the development of the arena with consultants L&R Leisure. The name "Odyssey" was chosen to symbolise the 'journey of discovery' that would be the science centre; Michael Montgomery, a 14-year-old at the time, came up with the name. The complex adopted the name, and the Science Centre became W5.

The arena opened in 2000, and W5 on 31 March 2001, with the pavilion opening a few months later. The Odyssey is quoted to have cost £120 million to complete. The whole complex Odyssey is held in trust by The Odyssey Trust Company Limited (a charity), initially with an operating and management agreement with SMG for the arena, a lease to Sheridan for the pavilion and IMAX, and National Museums Northern Ireland for W5.

In 2011, The Odyssey Trust Company Limited took operation of over W5, and now also operates the arena via a trading subsidiary.

In 2011, the Odyssey Pavilion, which was leased by the Sheridan Group, went into administration, and the building went under the control of KPMG temporarily until it was purchased by Matagorda 2.

In April 2026, The Odyssey Trust announced a 10-year partnership with telecommunications company Virgin Media O2. As a result, The SSE Arena, Belfast and Odyssey Place would be renamed and unified under the name The O2 Belfast, commencing on 1st July 2026, W5 was also renamed to W5 at The O2.

Facilities

Arena

Mass vaccination centre at the SSE Arena in Belfast (July 2021)

The arena within The O2 Belfast was known as the Odyssey Arena from 2000 to 2015 and The SSE Arena, Belfast between 2015 and July 2026. Northern Ireland's biggest indoor arena, with a capacity of up to 11,200, hosts concerts and sporting events, including Belfast Giants games.

On 25 June 2015, it was announced the arena would undergo a £3 million refurbishment and become The SSE Arena, Belfast on 4 September 2015, with the naming rights to last for ten years.

Until July 2026, the venue's sponsor was SSE plc, an energy company based in Scotland.

In April 2026, O2 was announced as the new naming rights partner for the arena and wider site, which would take effect in July. An O2 Blueroom VIP area is set to open in the arena.

Sports

Interior bowl of the arena before an ice hockey match, October 2010

Since opening, The O2 Belfast has been the home to Elite Ice Hockey League team, the Belfast Giants. The Belfast Giants play weekly home games against teams from across the UK between September and April each year. On 2nd October 2010, the Boston Bruins faced the Belfast Giants 'Selects' in an NHL Challenge match.

The venue also hosts a number of live sporting events, including WWE, which brings superstars from WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown brands so wrestling fans are able to watch their favourites perform live. On 16th June 2007, The SSE Arena, Belfast hosted the UFC 72: Victory, as they continued their expansion into Europe where the live events were broadcast on pay-per-view in North America, the United Kingdom, and Republic of Ireland.

World Champion Boxer Carl Frampton has also fought at The O2 Belfast. His first fight at the venue was in 2010 when he won the Commonwealth super-bantamweight title by a fourth-round TKO stoppage against Mark Quon. Carl Frampton has continued to fight in The O2 Belfast up until 2018 and helped promote Northern Ireland by using it as the venue for his matches

Since 2008, the venue has also played host to the Premier League Darts.

Food, beverage and entertainment

Entrance to Odyssey Place

Formerly known as the Odyssey Pavilion and Odyssey Place, The O2 Belfast houses multiple shops, restaurants, cafes, entertainment venues, and leisure facilities.

The Odyssey Pavilion opened in 2000, with multiple nightclubs, restaurants and café such as La Tasca, Red Panda and Hard Rock Cafe. It also had a large IMAX screen operated by Sheridan. The IMAX screen operated from 2001 until 2007. In 2001, the 12-screen Warner Village cinema, the Sheridan IMAX screen, multiple restaurants, and W5 all opened.

The Warner Village Cinemas chain was acquired by SBC International Cinemas in 2003, which folded the chain into Vue's operations by 2004. The Belfast cinema wasn't affected, as it still retained its branding up until 2006, when Storm Cinemas took over the cinema. On 4 June 2010, the cinema's ownership had reverted to Village Roadshow, and was rebranded as Odyssey Cinemas.

In 2010, the pavilion's owner, Sheridan Millennium Ltd, fell into administration, and the building was temporarily controlled by KPMG, until energy company SSE acquired it. At the same time, Movie House Cinemas acquired the Odyssey Bowl, which closed months ago, and the operator reopened it on 2nd December. The developer of the venue, Peter Curistan, was declared bankrupt in 2013.

In 2012, the Odyssey Pavilion was put up for sale for £10m. In 2014, cinema group Omniplex Cinemas, launched a bid to take over the lease of the pavilion. Omniplex would have rebranded the Odyssey Cinemas area under its own brand, but The Odyssey Trust rejected the bid, which was reported to be underestimated in value.

Although Matagorda 2 acquired the lease of the Odyssey Pavilion in 2016, in the same year, the developer of the Pavilion, Peter Curistan, was banned as a company director for six years, which followed the collapse of five companies that ran up losses of more than £12m. Some of the companies operated entertainment businesses within the venue, which was formerly controlled by the businessman.

In 2017, it was announced that the complex would be redeveloped, with major changes happening to the entrance and interior. In 2019, it was announced that all of the current tenants inside the complex would close as part of the redevelopment and cinema chain Cineworld announced will be redeveloping and entering the space of the previous Odyssey Cinemas area. Hollywood Bowl Group also announced that they would be opening a Hollywood Bowl in the former Odyssey Bowl.

The complex and tenants mostly closed in January 2020 for the redevelopment, with the cinema and the bowling alley permanently closing in its then-current state on 17th March 2020 and in May 2021, respectively. The Odyssey Pavillion reopened as Odyssey Place in April 2023.

As part of the Odyssey complex itself rebranding to The O2 Belfast, Odyssey Place ditched its separate branding and is now referred to as the former.

W5 at The O2

Luckey Climber, 2014

W5, which stands for "Who, What, Where, When, Why", was developed by Sally Montgomery, the Ulster Museum's project director (and then founding CEO), with the exhibitions being designed by Hands On Inc (Florida, United States), and the Ontario Science Centre, Canada. W5 has roughly 250 interactive exhibits, along with eight themed exhibition zones, in 3,500 square metres of exhibition space, workshop space, and lecture theatre.

W5 was a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Museums Northern Ireland until 31st March 2012, when it became a subsidiary of The Odyssey Trust. W5 has won a number of awards, including Best Visitor Attraction, several times. In 2013, W5 opened 'Climbit', the biggest Luckey Climber in Europe where small children can climb up twelve metres in total safety.

As part of the redevelopment of the Odyssey complex, W5 was also refurbished and reopened in October 2021.

Awards

In 2006, the Odyssey Arena was shortlisted for 'International Large Venue of the Year' (over 8,000 seats) outside of North America. This took place at the 17th Annual Pollstar Awards in 2006. This shortlisting made the Odyssey Arena one of the top six major concert venues in the world.

The SSE Arena, Belfast, has won the ‘App of The Year’ at the 2017 DANI (Digital Advertising Northern Ireland) Awards.

Transport

The complex is located in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast. It is a 15-minute walk from the city centre, over the Lagan Weir and Queen Elizabeth Bridges. Visitors are also able to access it via services provided by Translink NI. Glider (Belfast) is the newest way to access the arena from the city centre.

The Glider Bus route 'G2' travels from the city centre to the Odyssey bus stop which allows users to depart right outside of the venue. Metro (Belfast) service '94' takes users from Donegall Square North, just outside the Visit Belfast Welcome Centre, to the venue with stops immediately outside. The Titanic Quarter railway station is a 10-minute walk away from the Arena and Titanic Belfast visitor centre.

External links

• The O2 Belfast Official Website
• W5 Official Website