Ahoy Rotterdam
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Ahoy Rotterdam (often called merely Ahoy) is an indoor sporting arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The capacity of the arena is 10,000.
The basis of the present Ahoy was laid in 1950. After the devastation caused by the Second World War, the city of Rotterdam had worked on reconstruction and Rotterdam port was virtually complete. To mark the occasion, the Rotterdam Ahoy! exhibition was held in a purpose-built hall on the site where the medical faculty of the Erasmus University now stands.
The exhibition hall was called the Ahoy'-Hal. The apostrophe is a remnant of the original exclamation mark. The hall was used for a series of national and international events, such as the exhibition of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. During the North Sea flood of 1953 the hall also proved its worth as a reception centre for victims.
Ahoy Rotterdam as we now know it was built in 1970. The complex’s striking design won various national and international awards for its special steel structures. The first event to be held there was the Femina family exhibition. Since then, Ahoy has been expanded on a number of occasions, and was renovated and refurbished in 1998 to create today’s multifunctional venue.
The venue has been used for:
- Large-scale music concerts such as - Lee Towers, Anita Meyer, Rene Froger, Frans Bauer, Neil Young, Depeche Mode, Green Day, AC/DC, The Corrs, Gwen Stefani, Neil Diamond, Muse, Jonas Brothers, Whitney Houston,Anastacia, Beyoncé Knowles,Gloria Estefan, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Tori Amos, Rush, U2, Simple Minds, Diana Ross, Westlife, Dream Theater, Cher, Roger Waters, Tina Turner, Mariah Carey, Juan Luis Guerra, Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, Shania Twain, Kylie Minogue, Destiny's Child, Bryan Adams, Jean Michel Jarre, Bruce Springsteen, The Cure, Counting Crows, Queen + Paul Rodgers, Fleetwood Mac, Britney Spears, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Nightwish, Within Temptation, Shakira, The Sword, Machine Head and Metallica. In 2005 and 2006 there were two single DJ sets of Armin van Buuren called Armin Only. In year 2000, the big Dutch Star Lee Towers performed his 50th sellout Gala Of The Year concert - A special bronze bust of LT stands in the main entrance of Ahoy - He is the only person to reach this milestone at Ahoy.
- The 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
- On 15, 16 and 17 July 2005, the WSR05 (World Skateboarding Rotterdam 2005), which was won by Bastien Salabanzi.
- The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament ATP World Tour event for many years.
In April 1998 Janet Jackson started The Velvet Rope Tour at the venue with two shows before returning to The Netherlands for a third show in Gelredome in Arnhem which is 4 times bigger then Ahoy Rotterdam.
Destiny's Child filmed a concert DVD of their World Tour in May 2002. The band Rush did the same during their Snakes and Arrows tour in October 2007 during the European leg of the tour.
Several songs on the Dream Theater DVD Chaos in Motion were filmed in Ahoy also.
Symphonic Metal band Within Temptation filmed a concert called Black Symphony, which features the band accompanied by The Metropole Orchestra, a choir, and special guests including George Oosthoek, Anneke van Giersbergen of Agua de Annique and Keith Caputo of Life of Agony. It was filmed by 14 HD Cameras on February 7, 2008.
It was the first show they have taped for the 2nd season of the tv-series Living The Dream a real-life show about the lifes on tour of the Jonas Brothers
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 51°52′58″N 4°29′17″E / 51.88278°N 4.48806°E
| Preceded by Palais des Sports Grenoble |
European Indoor Championships in Athletics Venue 1973 |
Succeeded by Scandinavium Gothenburg |
| Preceded by None |
FIFA Futsal World Championship Final Venue 1989 |
Succeeded by Hong Kong Coliseum  Hong Kong |
| Preceded by Sala Polivalentă Bucharest |
Junior Eurovision Song Contest Venue 2007 |
Succeeded by Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center Limasol |
