Interview
Transforming Olympia
Six months into his role as Olympia Events CEO , Andy O ’ Sullivan invites Mike Fletcher to see how the West London redevelopment is progressing , and shares his future vision
O n the day I met Andy O ’ Sullivan , Olympia Events ’ still relatively new CEO , the £ 1.3bn redevelopment of the 138-year-old West London exhibition halls had reached a major milestone .
As visitors arriving at London Tech Week hid under their umbrellas from a summer downpour , most would have been oblivious to the Olympia skyline ’ s new addition above .
However , when the rain clouds finally parted , sunlight could be seen reflecting off a newly constructed glass roof , covering almost 1,000sqm with pleated glazing to complement the arched shapes of the Grade IIlisted Grand Hall and National Hall on either side .
The glass canopy is made from 520 rectangular low-iron glass panels . It will cover 2.5 acres of publicly
Above : Andy O ' Sullivan
accessible open space , featuring 20 restaurants , bars and a roof garden with views over the UK capital .
The elevated space forms a clear span between the historic exhibition roofs and will be accessible via escalators ascending from the bustle of the London streets below .
It will also connect Olympia ’ s
“ We drastically reduced the number of events to 60 shows a year to manage the construction chaos better ”
Left : The Canopy at Olympia London , designed by Heatherwick Studio exhibition halls and new conference centre with a 204-room Hyatt hotel , a 146-room citizenM hotel , a 4,400-capacity live music arena run by AEG Presents , a 1,575-seat theatre by the Trafalgar Entertainment Group , a performing arts school , a boutique gym , offices , and a cycle hub with 945 bike racks . This ambitious and dynamic destination hopes to attract 12 million visitors annually from late 2025 .
Towards the end of 2023 , this new chapter required a new leader , as former CEO Julie Driscoll decided to return to her former employer , Hyve after serving less than a year in the Olympia London role .
Venue operator , ASM Global wasted no time . By the new year , O ’ Sullivan , Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ’ s then-venue director , had accepted the CEO position at the newly rebranded Olympia Events .
O ’ Sullivan began by getting to grips with managing a business , which some days still hosts thousands of visitors , despite the obvious disruption caused by the major construction and renovation work . “ I ’ ve thoroughly enjoyed my first six months ,” he tells me when we meet in his office , away from the high-vis and hard hats . “ We drastically reduced the number of events to 60 shows a year to manage the construction chaos better , and we ’ re incredibly grateful to our organiser partners for their support and understanding .
“ It would have been much harder to relaunch the business from zero if we ’ d closed temporarily . We ’ re confident that when organisers see the destination experience we ’ re creating , they ’ ll want to launch and grow their show portfolios with Olympia Events .”
O ’ Sullivan has a pedigree for creating ‘ destination experiences ’. He was vice-president for IMG ’ s European Stadium & Arena business for eight years and formed part
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