Victoria Warehouse

The O2 Victoria Warehouse (formerly Victoria Warehouse) is a live music venue in Old Trafford, Manchester. The venue is made up of two storage warehouses used during the early to mid 20th century. It was redeveloped as a music venue in 2012 and given its current name in 2018.

O2 Victoria Warehouse
Former namesVictoria Warehouse
LocationTrafford Wharf Rd, Manchester
Coordinates53.4643°N 2.2849°W / 53.4643; -2.2849
OperatorAcademy Music Group
Capacity3,500
Construction
Built1925
Opened2012
Renovated2009
Website
https://victoriawarehouse.com

Location

The venue is on the banks of the Bridgewater Canal in Old Trafford, behind a stone quay.[1]

History
Walter Kershaw's mural

The premises began construction in the 1920s by the Liverpool Warehousing Company as a storage facility for the city, with the two warehouses opening in 1925 and 1927 respectively.[2] The site covered 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2).[3] It was later used for food storage, before being largely destroyed by fire in 1980.[4]

In 1982, a mural by Walter Kershaw was drawn on the storage buildings, showing the industries in Trafford Park, as well as players from nearby Manchester United F.C. It was replaced with a second mural on 1 November 1993, also by Kershaw, featuring updated images. The mural had to be temporarily dismantled in 2006 over health and safety concerns.[5][6] The mural was subsequently renovated and restored, before being removed again in 2014.[5][7] The site was purchased by developers in 2009 and the buildings reconstructed with modern facilities.[8] It opened on 8 April 2012, and acquired a wedding licence in August 2015.[9]

On 14 May 2015, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne gave a speech at the venue, entitled "Building a Northern Powerhouse" and covering the government's proposed redevelopment of cities in Northern England.[10]

The venue was renamed the O2 Victoria Warehouse as part of a longstanding deal between Live Nation Entertainment who own Academy Music Group, and O2.[8][11]

Events

The venue has attracted several major music artists, including Thom Yorke[12] and Sam Fender.[13]

In October 2019, following noise complaints at the nearby Bowlers Exhibition Centre, a representative from Academy Music Group said that all Victoria Warehouse events are attended by an acoustic engineer monitoring noise levels, and that they received no direct complaints.[14]

References
  1. Manchester - The Warehouse Legacy. English Heritage. p. 9. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  2. "Academy Music Group expands with Manchester's 'stunning' Victoria Warehouse". Music Week. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  3. "AMG expands venue portfolio in Manchester". IQ Magazine. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  4. "Victoria Warehouse" (PDF). Global Innovation Summit. May 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  5. Dickens, Steven (2014). Stretford & Old Trafford Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-445-61517-2.
  6. "Mural removed over safety fears". BBC News. 2 May 2006.
  7. "Second mural ordered for Trafford Park". Manchester Evening News. 21 February 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  8. "Victoria Warehouse to be re-named as new operator plans to pull in 'big international acts'". Manchester Evening News. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  9. "History". Victoria Warehouse. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  10. The Law & Politics of Brexit. Oxford University Press. 2017. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-198-81176-3.
  11. Clift, Caroline (30 August 2018). "Victoria Warehouse to rebrand as O2 Victoria Warehouse Manchester". Stand Out Magazine. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  12. "Thom Yorke adds second Manchester date to 2020 UK and European tour". NME. 18 October 2019.
  13. Jobling, Phoebe (26 September 2019). "Tickets for Stereophonics go on sale alongside Jax Jones and Sam Fender". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  14. ""It's literally beyond ridiculous" - Residents say a zombie rave at Bowlers kept them awake all night". Manchester Evening News. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
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