Wembley Wins While Tudor Explores

Wembley Arena manager Peter Tudor left for a three-month travelling sabbatical just a few days before the Live Nation-managed London building took Pollstar’s International Arena of The Year award.

While the announcement was being made in Los Angeles February 8th, Tudor and his partner were somewhere on an itinerary that included Australia, New Zealand, Easter Island, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and the Galapagos Islands. It ends when he returns to Wembley May 14th.

Stepping in as acting general manager is John Drury, who’s taking a temporary break from running the team that books concerts, comedy and children’s shows into all of Live Nation’s U.K. theatres.

"I think it’s important that Peter and his team get the recognition they’re due for this," he told Pollstar of his colleague’s award. "It’s great to be back and it’s very pleasing that the industry has recognised the high standards set by Peter and the team – and the major investment in a new-look Wembley Arena. We’re very much looking forward to working with all of our friends and colleagues through 2007."

The arena is one of Drury’s old stomping grounds. Last time around he was sales and marketing manager, leaving in 1999 to join London Arena as marketing director.

After six months, he moved on to be venue booker for SFX, which had just swallowed up the theatres. He’s now Live Nation’s venue bookings manager.

Within a few days of the Concert Industry Awards presentation, somebody managed to track Tudor down.

"This award reflects not just the investment made in turning the building into the stunning arena it now is, but also the efforts of the whole team in consistently offering excellent service to all of our customers both front of house and backstage – it’s great that the industry has recognised these efforts," a Wembley press statement quoted Tudor saying.

Wembley has won the award three times before, in 1999, 2000 and again in 2004 shortly before the venue closed for 15 months for the £35 million refurbishment that was completed last April.

Phil Bowdery made it a double for the European side of Live Nation, taking the International Promoter of the Year award.

The vice president for European Touring’s 2006 shows included dates with Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Ricky Martin, Eagles, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Michael Flatley’s "Celtic Tiger," and work on the company’s Summer Nights season.