The SEC Armadillo (originally known as the Clyde Auditorium) is an

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

located near the River Clyde, in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It is one of three venues on the Scottish Event Campus, which includes the

SEC Centre The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest exhibition centre, locate ...

and the

OVO Hydro The OVO Hydro is a multi-purpose indoor arena located within the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland, and is the largest entertainment venue in Scotland. The arena was initially named The Hydro after its main sponsor Scottish Hydro El ...

.SEC Armadillo
''www.whatsonglasgow.co.uk''. Retrieved 14 October 2021.

History

Plans for a new building to increase the capacity of the SECC complex were initiated in 1994. Designed by architects

Foster and Partners Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide ...

, construction of the 3,000 seat venue started in September 1995, and was completed in August 1997, 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 The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest exhibition centre, locate ...

, and the

Crowne Plaza Crowne Plaza is a British multinational chain of full service, upscale hotels headquartered in the United Kingdom. It caters to business travelers and the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family ...

hotel for easy access and exit for performers.

Events

The building has held events, such as the Scottish auditions of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

to 2010, the auditions for the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

four 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

editions Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Recor ...

of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' and the Hugo Award ceremony during Interaction, the

63rd World Science Fiction Convention The 63rd World Science Fiction Convention ( Worldcon), also known as ''Interaction'', was held on 4–8 August 2005 at the SEC Centre with the attached SEC Armadillo and Moat House Hotel in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Parties took place at the Hi ...

. Singer Susan Boyle was discovered at this venue. The building served as the venue for the

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

competitions of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, held in Glasgow. In the season of Christmas, the Armadillo is used for

pantomimes Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

References

External links

Scottish Event Campus

Photographs of the (Armadillo) Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow
InGlasgow.com (Archived)
SECC Armadillo features in Delhi
Clyde Waterfront, 15 October 2010 {{Authority control 1997 establishments in Scotland 2014 Commonwealth Games venues Cultural infrastructure completed in 1997 Culture in Glasgow Exhibition and conference centres in Scotland Foster and Partners buildings High-tech architecture Lattice shell structures Music venues completed in 1997 Music venues in Glasgow Tourist attractions in Glasgow