We Love O2 ABC Glasgow

O2 ABC Glasgow is an important cultural site in the city, with an exciting and long history that has seen the venue entertaining audiences for almost 150 years. With a glorious Art Deco façade, stunning 19th century steelwork and two-metre mirror ball in the main auditorium, it is one of Glasgow’s most iconic and respected venues and has made a huge contribution to the live music scene. It hasn’t always been a music venue and O2 ABC Glasgow has housed all-manner of interesting spectacles, from a diorama to an ice skating palace, circus, dancehall and a cinema, until 2005 when it became the place that we know and love today. 

Averaging over 400 events annually, O2 ABC Glasgow has been responsible for some unforgettable live performances over the years, welcoming both international artists and rising stars through its doors including Adele, Ed Sheeran, Chvrches, Sam Smith, Bruno Mars, London Grammar, Royal Blood, Kasabian, Florence and the Machine, Gregory Porter and Bombay Bicycle Club. It’s also become well known for its regular club nights, especially the legendary Love Music, which has kept Glasgow’s night owls dancing since 2005 with an explosive mix of indie, electro, soul and rock. 

 

1875
The venue is built and opens as a Diorama: a theatrical experience invented by the French in the early 1800s
1929
The venue is taken over by the Associated British Cinemas Chain (ABC) and crowned the Regal
2005
The ABC relaunches as a music venue following a spectacular refurbishment
2008
Primal Scream’s squeezed into O2 ABC2 in 2008 playing a hit laden set to just 350 people
2014
O2 ABC Glasgow was the chosen venue for the official after party of the MTV EMAs with surprise DJ set from Rudimental
2015
Wolf Alice, Mac Demarco, The Maccabees, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Sleater Kinney, Wilko Johnston, Idlewild all take to the stage