The Venue
The venue itself has a large room accommodating 2,300 guests, including a balcony which can hold 500 people. There is also a basement room for gigs by up and coming bands which will accommodate 400 guests. The Kaiser Chiefs opened the venue with a gig on 8 October 2008 Some other well known musicians which have played at The Academy have included: Cher Lloyd, All Time Low, Foals, Wolfmother, Last Shadow Puppets, Ellie Goulding, The Pigeon Detectives, MGMT, Paolo Nutini, The Proclaimers, Madness (band), The Fratellis, Beady Eye, The Pogues, Deftones, Band of Horses, Crystal Castles and Hot Chip.
On 6 November 2008, it was announced that Telefónica Europe (owners of the O2 Network in the UK) had become the new sponsor of all Academy venues, in a deal with music promotor Live Nation. The deal, which lasts for five years, sees all venues rebranded "The O2 Academy", in line with Telefónica's purchase of the Millennium Dome (now The O2).
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