The Bristol Arena is on target to open in 2024, both its developer and the city mayor have insisted.
This comes on the same week Queen and Adam Lambert became the first band to play at the YTL Bristol Arena after they performed at the Brabazon Hangars on Monday, May 23. Queen, fronted by lead singer Adam Lambert, have been secretly rehearsing at the former Filton Airfield for their upcoming Rhapsody tour and played some of their classic hits on Monday, May 23, to a small, invited audience.
The city's mayor Marvin Rees - who scrapped the original plans for what was then known as Arena Island in September 2018 - mentioned the arena on his annual address on his blog. He wrote: "On target for delivery in 2024 at no cost to the public, putting Bristol on the map for major acts such as Queen.
Read more: Queen rock secret Bristol Arena gig with set of classic hits
"At the time of making the decision about Temple Island, people were saying I was 'under pressure'– but 'the show must go on', and it did. Last night proved that we’ve broken free."
The mayor told a fortnightly press conference on Wednesday that the rock legends - whose gig was only open to around 100 special guests - would not have played in Bristol this week if the arena had been built in the city centre. The mayor says the original site, now known as Temple Island, had room only for “one or two” trucks but that the iconic band brought 40 articulated lorries when they became the first act to grace the YTL Bristol Arena at the Brabazon Hangars.
He said Queen’s performance, which developer YTL said marked a “key milestone” in the venue’s journey to becoming a top-five global music arena, was a “very significant” moment that showed “what the venue could be”.
A YTL spokesperson said: “We are still pushing forward, targeting completion in 2024. This is a big project, and we’re not just building an arena, we’ve got lots of infrastructure to put in place, but rest assured we will be welcoming artists like Queen to 17,000 people when open.”
