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Glasgow’s SSE Hydro undergoes rebrand

OVO Energy has been unveiled as the new naming-rights partner of Glasgow’s SSE Hydro arena as part of plans to enhance the venue’s sustainability efforts.

The arena, which will now be known as the OVO Hydro, reopened in September following an 18-month closure due to COVID-19.

The deal has been signed as the arena prepares for its biggest ever year of live entertainment in 2022 and OVO will support the venue in its bid to achieve ‘Greener Arena Certification’.

The certification is an independent process overseen by A Greener Festival and provides external verification on carbon reduction and transition strategies for venues. OVO will fund carbon-reduction and environmental initiatives recommended as a result of the annual accreditation process.

The OVO Hydro has a capacity of 14,600 and hosts music, sport and other events. It is expected to welcome over 1.2 million visitors in 2022, with acts such as Shawn Mendes, Billie Eilish and The Weeknd all scheduled to perform.

The OVO Hydro forms part of the Scottish Event Campus, which will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) from October 31 to November 12.

OVO replaces SSE as the arena’s naming-rights partner. Last year, OVO completed its acquisition of SSE Energy Services, with the latter now forming part of the OVO family.

Colin Banks, head of sponsorship and partnerships at OVO, said: “At OVO, we want to develop purposeful partnerships which reflect our commitment to make zero carbon living a reality – not just in the home, but in the things we love doing too, like going to see our favourite band or comedian.

“That’s why we share in the OVO Hydro’s ambition to help live entertainment in becoming more sustainable. It’ll take time, but together, we want to make lower-impact live events a headline act in their own right and the ‘Greener Arena Certification’ process is an incredibly positive step on that journey.

“We’ll also be supporting the venue in identifying practical ways in which we can help to further reduce its environmental impact, without detracting from the OVO Hydro’s first-class visitor experience. We look forward to releasing more detail around some of the initiatives already being put in place, in the very near future.”

Billy McFadyen, director of finance and development at the SEC, added: “OVO Energy are the perfect partner for SEC to help achieve our sustainable goals and objectives. We’re working hard to build on our existing, multi-layered sustainability programme and look forward to working with A Greener Festival towards achieving ‘Greener Arena Certification’ for the OVO Hydro.

“We’re grateful to OVO for their support towards this incredibly important consultation and certification process and look forward to working together to further strengthen our sustainability credentials, build upon the work we have already done, and make Scotland’s flagship entertainment venue as low-impact as possible.”

SEC recently launched a sustainability food strategy with 80% of food on campus being sourced in Scotland and grown by producers using sustainable and responsible agriculture processes. The campus has also introduced digital ticketing, removing the need to print tickets at home.

The first event at the rebranded OVO Hydro will be a JLS concert on October 20.