Thousands were stranded at The O2 after Jubilee Line tube trains running to the venue were suspended due to the severe weather conditions.
Snow began to fall while 14,500 people watched an Olly Murs concert in the arena and 2,500 attended the Kisstory club night at the IndigO2.
Stephen Farmer, communications manager at The O2 told Event: "Crowds began leaving, but at 11pm we got a phone call from [Transport for London] saying there would be no more trains. It was a nightmare as there were still a few thousand people left in the arena. The buses stopped running because drivers couldn’t get out to pick people up, and taxis couldn’t get here."
He continued: "The Olly Murs concert attracted quite a young crowd so there were a lot of people with young kids who were worried. Our duty director Trevor Speed took charge of the situation and did a sterling job. We got on the phone to Thames Clippers who laid on some more boats to take people up the river to Central London. We put local taxi numbers up on a board."
Many people were able to leave but around 400 remained at the venue with no way to get home. O2 staff decided to open the arena’s VIP lounge to them.
Farmer said: "By about 4am that was it – we were in for the night. About 400 people slept in and around the VIP area. Our catering staff provided free tea and coffee and handed out blankets. People slept on the sofas and floors and were given sausage and bacon breakfast rolls in the morning."
Tubes started running again the following morning and all of the stranded vistors were able to leave by 9.45am.
"We’ve never seen anything like this before in the five years that the O2’s existed," said Farmer. "We have plans in place to deal with various scenarios. This was slightly on the hoof, but we could draw on previous experience. It’s not the first time the tubes have gone down, but never for such a long time."
He added: "I think we were lucky that we had the Olly Murs crowd in that night. If it had been a crowd that was drinking heavily then the atmosphere would have been quite different. There was a bit of blitz sprit: people were happy that they were warm and fed and watered. Everything that we could control we did, we couldn’t have stopped it from snowing."
To leave a comment and let us know your thoughts.
For more in-depth industry features, showcases and Olympic news don't miss the next issue of Event magazine by