Home / The arena
Inside Vivid Arena
A purpose-built room for 6,500 people in GRA, Onitsha, with a light and sound rig designed for this space and power that never blinks.
- Opened 2021
- Four layouts
- Full backup power
The facts
The arena in numbers
Standing capacity in concert layout
Moving light heads on the rig
Width of the LED wall
To switch to backup power
Design
A room that feels full at 1,500 and at 6,500
The bowl
Raked on three sides
The lower bowl wraps the floor so no seat is more than 54 metres from the stage. The roof is acoustically treated so the sound stays tight, not echoey.
Rig points everywhere
Ninety rigging points across the roof, rated for touring productions.
Sound tuned to the seats
Main hangs, side fills and delay speakers for the back of the bowl.
Three gates, fast entry
Twenty-four scan lanes. A full house is inside in about 50 minutes.
Concourse and food court
Eight kiosks, two bars and free water points on every level.
The signature of every show
The light desk
The beams you can play with on our home page are a small version of the real thing. Every show at Vivid is lit from one desk at the back of the floor, beside the sound desk, where our lighting team programmes cues for each artist.
A cue is a saved look: which lights are on, which colour they are, where they point and how fast they move. A two hour headline show has between 300 and 600 cues, fired by hand in time with the band.
We keep the light show safe for everyone. We do not use fast strobe effects, and when an artist asks for them we warn guests on the ticket page and at the gate.
Behind the scenes
Power, air and comfort
Two generators and a battery bank
If the grid drops, the batteries carry the show while a generator starts. You will not see the lights flicker.
Cool before you arrive
The bowl is cooled from 3pm on show days and kept at about 18 to 22 degrees.
First aid and calm stewarding
A first aid room with a nurse at every show, an ambulance bay and a lost child point at the info desk.
Step-free throughout
Lifts from Gate 2 and Gate 3, accessible toilets on every level and a raised access platform.
2017 to today
How the arena came to be
An idea in the market
A group of Onitsha traders and a returning sound engineer agree the city needs a home for big shows.
Ground broken in GRA
Building starts on a former warehouse site, with the roof designed for touring rigs.
Doors open
The first show is a highlife night for 3,000 people. Nkem Lux plays the second weekend.
The light rig doubles
48 moving heads and the 24 metre LED wall are installed.
212 shows and counting
Concerts, comedy, crusades, graduations and festivals, with the night shuttle running after every show.
Come and see it
Free venue tours run on Wednesdays at 2pm for promoters, event planners and schools.