The Mercedes-Benz Arena (; Shanghainese: ''Meisedesy-bentzy Venho Tsonshin'', literally "Mercedes-Benz Culture Center"), formerly known as the Shanghai World Expo Cultural Center, is an indoor arena located on the former grounds of

Expo 2010 Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the t ...

Pudong Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic cit ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. It is owned and operated by the AEG-OPG joint venture. The facility seats 18,000 people and includes a smaller venue, The Mixing Room & Muse, which is a more intimate live-music venue. The arena hosted the opening ceremony for the Expo 2010, during which it was known as the Expo Cultural Center.

Naming rights

The arena is sponsored in a ten-year deal by

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

and was officially renamed the Mercedes-Benz Arena on January 15, 2011.

Events

The arena has become the most popular arena in mainland China since it opened in 2010.

Music

It is one of the most popular arenas for concert tours of the performers in Mandarin and Cantonese, also in Korean and Japanese. Additionally, it attracted many superstars such as

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

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Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

, André Rieu, Andrea Bocelli, Aretha Franklin, Ariana Grande,

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, Avril Lavigne,

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Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical ...

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, The Cardigans, Eagles,

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, Elton John,

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurle ...

, Imagine Dragons,

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, Jennifer Lopez, Jessie J,

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, Katy Perry,

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, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Metallica,

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, Nile Rodgers, Nine Percent,

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, OneRepublic,

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, Rocket Girls 101,

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, Simple Plan, Slash,

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, Usher, Unine and

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Sports

On 21 September 2017, an NHL pre-season game was held in the stadium, with the Vancouver Canucks losing to the LA Kings 5–2. The game saw a crowd of 10,088 gather to watch the NHL's first ever game played in China. In March 2016, the arena held a professional '' Dota 2'' video game tournament, known as the Shanghai Major 2016.

The International 2019 The International 2019 (TI9) was the ninth iteration of The International, an annual ''Dota 2'' world championship esports tournament. Hosted by Valve, the game's developer, the tournament followed a year-long series of awarding qualifying poin ...

, ''Dota 2'' premier annual tournament, also took place in the arena in August 2019.

Entertainment

The Mercedes-Benz Arena held the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in November 2017.

References

External links

Mercedes-Benz Arena official homepage

Mercedes-Benz Arena AEG homepage
{{Authority control Mercedes-Benz Indoor arenas in China Sports venues in Shanghai Expo 2010 World's fair architecture in China 2010 establishments in China Music venues completed in 2010 Performing arts venues in Shanghai Cultural centers in China Pudong