SEC Armadillo

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SEC Armadillo

The 2k Armadillo
Clyde Auditorium at night, May 2008
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Former names	Clyde Auditorium (2000–2017)
Address	Finnieston Street Glasgow G3 8YW Scotland
Location	Scottish Event Campus
Coordinates	55°51′34″N 4°17′17″W / 55.859496°N 4.287962°W / 55.859496; -4.287962Coordinates: 55°51′34″N 4°17′17″W / 55.859496°N 4.287962°W / 55.859496; -4.287962
Public transit	Exhibition Centre railway station
Owner	SEC Limited
Capacity	3,000
Construction
Broke ground	September 1995
Built	1995–2000
Opened	7 September 2000 (2000-09-07)
Construction cost	£30 million
Architect	Foster and Partners
Structural engineer	Arup Group Limited
Website
Venue Info (Scottish Event Campus)

The SEC Armadillo (originally known as the Clyde Auditorium) is an auditorium located near the River Clyde, in Glasgow, Scotland.^[1] It is one of three venues on the Scottish Event Campus, which includes the SEC Centre and the SSE Hydro.

History[]

The auditorium viewed from across the Clyde, also showing the Bell's Bridge linking the area to Pacific Quay

Plans for a new building to increase the capacity of the SECC complex were initiated in 1994. Designed by architects Foster and Partners, construction of the 3,000 seat venue started in September 1995, and was completed in August 2000, by which time it had earned its affectionate nickname, due to the similarity of its shape to that of the animal of the same name.

Many comparisons have been made with the Sydney Opera House, although this was not the architects' inspiration for the design, which was in fact an interlocking series of ship's hulls, in reference to the Clyde's shipbuilding heritage.

The building has become one of the most recognisable on Clydeside and an iconic image of Glasgow. It is connected by passageways to the SEC Centre, and the Crowne Plaza hotel for easy access and exit for performers.

Events[]

The building has held events, such as the Scottish auditions of Britain's Got Talent 2008 to 2010,^{[citation needed]} the auditions for the first four editions of The X Factor^{[citation needed]} and the Hugo Award ceremony during Interaction, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention.^{[citation needed]} Singer Susan Boyle was discovered at this venue.^{[citation needed]}

The building served as the venue for the weightlifting competitions of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, held in Glasgow.^{[citation needed]} In the season of Christmas, the Armadillo is used for pantomimes.^{[citation needed]} Westlife lead vocalist Shane Filan played at the venue twice as a solo artist in 2016 and 2017.^{[citation needed]}

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clyde Auditorium.

• Scottish Event Campus
• Photographs of the (Armadillo) Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow InGlasgow.com (Archived)
• SECC Armadillo features in Delhi Clyde Waterfront, 15 October 2010