Tuesday Aug 24, 2004

To co-incide with the launch of the Arena at ExCeL London in October, ExCeL London are working with an experienced Manager for concerts and live events. Steve Allen has been in the concert, live event and promotion business for nearly twenty years, working predominantly for Harvey Goldsmith CBE as his Event Production Manager.

Steve has managed numerous big name, large scale events ranging from Pavarotti in Hyde Park, the F1 in Regent Street, Rolling Stones tours, Top of the Pop Awards, Coldplay, Cirque Du Soleil, Mary J Blige, David Gray in Trafalgar Square, Nelson Mandela Tribute Concert, Paul Weller, Boyzone to Elton John and Bruce Springsteen.

Commenting on his appointment, Steve Allen said: "This is a completely new role for me at ExCeL London, but I believe that with a bit of hard work we can turn ExCeL London into one of the most amazing and exciting live venues in the UK. I am proud to be given the chance to try and put ExCeL London on the map working with the great staff and facilities here."

From October, ExCeL London will become London's latest entertainments venue, with a capacity of up to 17,000 seated and 20,000 standing. Says Rob MacKenzie, ExCeL London's London EventCo Managing Director: "Already London's premier venue for exhibitions, we are perfectly placed to host large-scale entertainment events. This has always been part of ExCeL London's medium term strategy and is a logical extension of our existing client base. We are delighted to announce this move and hope that ExCeL London will become a popular venue for concerts, sports and entertainment events."

The phenomenal success of the Schroders London Boat Show has proved that ExCeL London can attract and handle large public audiences and the previous prominence of the London Arena clearly demonstrated the thriving market for live music east of London Bridge.

For more information regarding the new stand catering at ExCeL London, please visit www.ExCeL London-london.co.uk/standcatering, or contact Gemma Parkhouse at ExCeL London on 020 7069 4739 or email GemmaParkhouse@excel-london.co.uk