Two of the world's giants in the entertainment industry have confirmed they are set for a fascinating battle to use the Olympic Stadium for concerts after the 2012 Games.
I broke the story in June that Live Nation, the world's biggest concert producer, was considering a bid to turn the Park into a major music venue.
West Ham have announced that they have reached an agreement with Live Nation to put on concerts in the main stadium if the club wins the right to move in after 2014.
The decision follows an announcement last week by AEG, the owners of the 02 (the former Millennium Dome), that it has also put in a bid for the stadium together with Tottenham Hotspur.
This is a major commercial battle. AEG has turned the 02 into the world's most successful music venue and it certainly won't like the idea of a rival moving onto its patch just up the road.
Live Nation has major artists like Madonna, U2 and Lady Gaga but more importantly it runs about 140 venues around the world and puts on 20,000 concerts each year.
The fact is that the Olympic Park has better transport connections than the 02 which has struggled in recent months with problems on the Jubilee underground line.
With a massive new shopping centre on its doorstep, the Olympic Park will also have plenty of pre-concert entertainment for music fans.
What's interesting is whether Live Nation is going to be bidding for the handball arena too, as I was told in June.
That would give the company a major indoor arena as well as the outdoor concert venue. I am still waiting to get an answer on that.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adrianwarner/2010/10/entertainment_giants_set_for_o.html
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