The boss of London's Wembley Arena has responded to the venue's victory in the Best International Arena category at last week's Concert Industry Awards, the US live sector's annual awards event staged by Pollstar Magazine. The London venue, which re-opened last year after a considerable refurbishment of course, beat Coliseo de Puerto Rico, the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, the Manchester Evening News Arena and The Point in Dublin to take the Best International Prize.
Speaking about the award, Wembley Arena GM Peter Tudor told CMU: "This award reflects not just the investment made in turning the building into the stunning arena it now is, but also the efforts of the whole team in consistently offering excellent service to all of our customers both front of house and backstage - it's great that the industry has recognised these efforts".
Another London venue, the Royal Albert Hall, took the Best International Theatre prize at the awards, while the US venues that were awarded in the various venue categories included Universal City's Gibson Amphitheatre (Theatre), Charlottesville's John Paul Jones Arena (New Venue), LA's Greek Theatre (Small Outdoor), the Hollywood Bowl (Major Outdoor) and New York's Madison Square Garden (Venue).
The Coachella Festival won the Best US Festival prize, while the Reading/Leeds Festival won the Best International Festival. Among the artists winning awards for their live activity last year were Tim McGraw/Faith Hill, Def Leppard/Journey, Madonna and Panic! At the Disco.