Pollstar (10/10/23) Gottfried, Gideon
The O2 London arena donated tickets to more than 1,000 young people, following findings from research that live events have a positive effect on mental health ahead of World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10. The O2 analyzed this link among 2,000 people aged 14-25 in Britain, stating in a press release that "over 80% of young people agree that music (88%) and live events (83%) have a positive impact [on] their mood and well-being. Furthering this, a fifth of young people (20%) stated that this positive impact on their mental health is what they enjoy most about attending live events, with over a quarter (27%) citing that their enjoyment comes from the opportunity to forget about everything else they have going on when attending live events." The O2 commercial director Adam Pearson said these findings underscore "the undeniable link between live events and the positive impact they have on the mental health and well-being of young people, which presents us with a unique opportunity to really make a difference within our local community — something which has always been a huge priority for us." The O2 has announced a project to improve live-event accessibility for local youths in Greenwich, with the AEG Europe team promising to contribute over 1,000 arena tickets to young people and their families from December 2023 and through 2024, alongside the YoungGreenwich charitable youth organization. "The tickets will span a range of event types taking place in The O2 arena over the next year, including music, comedy and sport," the press release said.
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