o2 and Icon shopping centre closed until Friday (at least)

Wind damage caused by Storm Franklin to the o2’s exterior will mean the building and attractions are closed until at least Friday 25 February.

The bulk of the damage occurred to material above the Icon shopping centre. This photo taken before the damage shows the canvas roof above the centre:

A gig by Dave has been cancelled, with the venue announcing they hope to reopen for these events:

• UB40 featuring Ali Campbell 25 Feb
• Matchroom Boxing presents Okolie vs Cieslak 27 Feb
• Simply Red 2 & 3 March
• The Lumineers 4 March
• Davido 5 March

Icon

The shopping centre may take some more time given the canvas roof has been extensively damaged.

The Icon centre opened in 2018 with AEG now operating the building on a long term 58 year lease lease. The shopping centre section of the o2 was sparsely used for some time until finding a new lease of life.

When constructed in the late 1990s in time for the Millennium celebrations, the structure’s roof was given a 25 year lifespan. That is pretty much up and even without the storm, it would have needed work.

Eunice has brought that need forward a tad.

River pier

Canvas roofing also appears on the adjacent Thames Clippers aka Uber Boat pier, and recently plans went in to completely replace, as covered on this site here.

Until now no solid plans had publicly emerged to replace the roof on the o2.