Point Theatre

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For other uses, see The Point (disambiguation).

The Point Theatre (originally dubbed The Point Depot, and often referred to simply as The Point) is a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland. It is located on the North Wall Quay of the River Liffey, amongst the Dublin Docklands. It is one of Ireland's largest indoor concert arenas, having a seating capacity of up to 8,500. As such it is larger than any other fully-equipped indoor venue in the country and now it can be described as one of Ireland's premier music venues.

The Point has been noted for its flexible seating configurations, this is evident in the fact that over the years it has not only served as a venue for many different varieties of music concerts, but has also been turned into an ice rink, a boxing arena, a conference hall, an exhibition centre, a wrestling ring, a theatre, an opera house and even a three ring circus!

[edit] History

The building was constructed in 1878 as a train depot to serve the nearby busy port.

In the late 1980s after many years of neglect and disuse it was bought and fitted with new balconies, offices and backstage facilities. It was opened in 1988. Before it was renovated, U2 recorded part of their 1988 album Rattle and Hum at the Depot. Huey Lewis and the News were the first act to play there. U2 played 5 nights at the Point near the end of their Lovetown Tour in 1989. One concert was broadcast around the world and another became famous for Bono's prophetic statements regarding U2 having to "go away and ... and dream it all up again."

The Point became a very familiar setting to hundreds of millions of television viewers, as it was the venue for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, 1995, and 1997, becoming the only place to have ever been the venue three times.

The Point thus also served as the first place the dancing sensation Riverdance was performed, being in the interval act of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest

The 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards was also held there.

Tragedy struck the theatre in the May of 1996 at a Smashing Pumpkins concert. Due to overcrowding and moshing, 17 year old fan Bernadette O'Brien was crushed to death.

David Gray's live performance video, David Gray: Live, released in 2001, was recorded at The Point in December 1999.

Kylie Minogue made a triumphant return to the Point Depot (after a 14 year absence) in May 2005 with her Showgirl Tour. She played six nights at the Dublin venue, just weeks before she was told she had breast cancer.

[edit] Future

The point is due to be closed in the summer of 2007 to be rebuilt and refurbished. The wall closest to the city will be knocked out and will be extended out to create an arena with the capacity of over 14,000. Also on the site of the carpark and other surrounding land there will be an underground carpark, a cinema, a shopping centre, a small 2000 seater theatre, a hotel and a 24 story tower with offices, retail and 150 residential units.