MTV Europe Music Awards Rocks ACC Liverpool
7 Nov 08The 15th annual MTV Europe Music Awards at ACC Liverpool was today hailed as the biggest and best ever.
The spectacular production was the largest event of its type in Europe and the biggest ever show to be held at the venue so far.
It is estimated that Liverpool will benefit from an unprecedented economic boost from hosting the awards ceremony, with suggestions media coverage will be worth £50million alone.
The entire venue was utilised for the awards ceremony, including the BT Convention Centre, which was transformed into an artists' village complete with purpose built dressing rooms and a VIP bar and restaurant area.
Tim Banfield, general manager of the Echo Arena, said: "To put it in context, in the arena business this is as big as it gets - there isn't a higher profile event anywhere else in the whole of Europe.
"It has taken ten days to put the production together which in terms of scale is unheard of.
"There is 130 tonnes of kit being installed in the roof alone and MTV has taken out 500 seats to accommodate the spectacular set. This is certainly the highlight of my career."
It took 11 days and more than 5000 man hours to put the production together, which featured a total of six stages.
Two giant video walls, weighing around four tonnes each, were also installed either side of the stage.
Hundreds of seats were removed to accommodate a glamour pit – where stars can watch the performance front of house rather than retreating backstage.
The event was broadcast live and was only the third time that the UK has hosted the Awards. Previously the event has been held in London (1996) and Edinburgh (2003).
Richard Godfrey, Senior Vice President Content & Music, MTV Networks UK & Ireland and Executive Producer, EMAs said: "We aimed to put on a show that people will talk about for years to come and we certainly feel we’ve achieved that.
"The production for the event at the Echo Arena was one of the most spectacular ever and was certainly a challenge but one that paid off."
Councillor Warren Bradley, Leader of Liverpool City Council and Deputy Chairman of Liverpool Culture Company, said: ''This event was a fantastic showcase for the city and although we are still calculating the economic benefits, they are likely to be significant.
"It is fantastic for the city that we now have a venue which can cater for world class events of this nature."
The event was held in the state of the art 11,000-seat event and concert facility. The Echo Arena Liverpool sits under the same roof as a convention centre featuring 1,350 seats, a 3725 sq metre multi-purpose hall 18 meeting rooms and total exhibition space is in excess of 7000 sq metres.
Launched in 1994, the MTV Europe Music Awards has become one of the most sensational, maverick, live music award shows in the world.
The Europe Music Awards attracts the biggest and loudest names in the industry. The line up for the 2008 EMAs – hosted by Katy Perry - included Beyonce, Pink, Sir Paul McCartney, Kanye West and The Killers to name but a few.
Created with the single aim of honouring the music and artists – established and up-and-coming – that Europeans love, the MTV Music Awards takes place in a different European city every year. Past host cities include Copenhagen (2006), Lisbon (2005), Rome (2004), Edinburgh (2003), Barcelona (2002), Frankfurt (2001), Stockholm (2000), Dublin (1999), Milan (1998), Rotterdam (1997), London (1996), Paris (1995) and the inaugural awards in Berlin in 1994.