The Sage Gateshead has announced that it has changed its name to the Glasshouse International Centre For Music. Or just The Glasshouse, if you’re in a hurry.
The switch comes nearly two decades after the venue originally opened as Sage Gateshead. Accounting software company Sage paid £6 million for the naming rights in 2004. It now plans to move those naming rights to a neighbouring arena and conference centre, which is set to open between 2025 and 2027.
It was thought that having two venues with Sage in their name right next to each other might be confusing. The existing venue is also run by a charity whereas the new arena will be operated by ASM Global, and the former is keen to distinguish itself from the latter.
“We agreed that we would change our name in order to maintain the distinction between ourselves as a charity and The Sage, which is part of a large multinational commercial entity”, Glasshouse MD Abigail Pogson tells The Guardian.
A public consultation on the new name began last year - and it was originally announced that the venue would have a new name by September 2022.
After sifting through hundreds of suggestions, the venue’s operators settled on The Glasshouse in reference to its impressive outer walls, made up of 630 panes of glass.
Mark Brown
Austen Shakespeare