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We built the room Onitsha deserved
Vivid Arena was started by Onitsha traders and a returning sound engineer who were tired of watching big shows skip the city.
- Opened 2021
- 180 staff on a show night
- 212 shows
Since 2017
From a warehouse to the city's big room
For years, the biggest artists from the South East played Lagos and Abuja but not home. The halls in Onitsha were too small, the power too unreliable and the roads too slow for a big night.
In 2017 a group of traders from the Main Market and Obiora Nwankwo, a sound engineer back from two decades on tour, decided to fix that. They found a warehouse site in GRA, raised the money among themselves and opened the doors in 2021.
Five years on, the arena has hosted 212 shows, from afrobeats headliners to diocesan crusades, and the night shuttle has carried more than 180,000 people home.
Our values
What we believe
Everyone gets home safe
The night is not over until the last coach has dropped its last guest.
Fair tickets
One price for everyone, fees shown before you pay, and no touts.
Every seat is a good seat
We light and tune the room for the back row as well as the front.
Built by the city
Local staff, local suppliers and free workshops for young people.
Leadership
The people behind the show
A sound engineer who came home from twenty years of touring to build the room he always wanted to work in.
Books every show and still stands at the back of the floor for every headline.
Programmes the light desk and runs the Saturday lighting workshops.
Runs the box office, stewards and the night shuttle.
Community
Giving back to Onitsha
Every term we run free Saturday workshops in lighting, sound and stage management for young people aged 16 to 24. Twenty-six graduates now work on shows across the country, and four work here.
Workshop graduates in the industry
Free tickets given to schools each year
Staff from Anambra
Join the crew
Work with us
We hire stewards, kitchen staff, technicians and box office staff all year. Show night shifts are paid weekly by transfer, with transport home included.