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National Bowl

The National Bowl (originally the Milton Keynes Bowl) is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit (for brick-making), filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil excavated by the many new developments in the area. It has a maximum capacity of 65,000.[1] The arena is open-air grassland, without seats.

For the American gridiron football game, see National Bowl Game.

Former names

Milton Keynes Bowl (1979–1992)

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England

English Partnerships

Gaming International/Live Nation UK

Stadium Amphitheatre

65,000

1979

2012

History[edit]

The venue opened in 1979, with gigs by Desmond Dekker and Geno Washington.


In 1992, Sony/Pace bought the venue and re-branded it as the National Bowl, building a massive permanent sound stage. They pulled out in 1996 citing profitability reasons.


English Partnerships, which merged with the Homes and Communities Agency in 2008, bought the site in 2000. From 2006 to 2010, it was leased to a Gaming International/Live Nation UK consortium.

have released a DVD and double CD of their 1982 appearance at the Bowl entitled Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl.

Queen

had their End of the Road Concert filmed here in 1984, it was released on 2 VHS tapes, End of the Road, and More from End of the Road, the concert marked their end as a touring band, but later revived in 1985 for the Live Aid Concert.

Status Quo

performed at this venue in front of 60,000 fans (on each of three successive nights) and there is only a recording (so far) including Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', This Place Hotel, and Another Part of Me.

Michael Jackson

performed their last date of the Wild! Tour and called "Erasure Live at Milton Keynes Bowl" on 1 September 1990 with more than 60,000 people in the National Bowl. This spectacular show by Erasure was broadcast live on "Radio 1" and BBC Television and it was presented by BBC Radio 1's Gary Davies.

Erasure

performed their last leg of the Wherever I May Roam Tour and called it Nowhere Left to Roam at the Bowl on 5 June 1993. This was broadcast live on "Radio 1".

Metallica

's album Bullet in a Bible, and the accompanying DVD, were recorded at the National Bowl in the summer of 2005. The band's two-night stand was supported by Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday and Hard-Fi. The bowl also appears in Green Day: Rock Band as one of the playable venues.

Green Day

released Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes, a CD/DVD set from their first ever UK Projekt Revolution show, filmed on 29 June 2008. Jay Z also headlined with supporting acts Pendulum, N.E.R.D, Enter Shikari, The Bravery & Innerpartysystem. This show turned out to be the biggest capacity Projekt Revolution to date, and it was the first year in the tour's history to be featured outside North America.

Linkin Park

have released first live album and second DVD of their 2010 appearance at the Bowl entitled World's on Fire.

The Prodigy

held their (then) final UK show on their farewell tour in July 2012. Scenes from the performance were seen in the music video for their final single, "Don't You Worry Child".

Swedish House Mafia

List of contemporary amphitheatres

Official website

52°01′07″N 0°45′38″W / 52.018606°N 0.760589°W / 52.018606; -0.760589