Ziggo Dome

Out arena-ing even the Heineken Music Hall, this 17,000-seat behemoth of a venue, complete with state-of-the-art LED exterior, is all about big names. It was designed by Benthem Crouwel Architekten – the megawatt architects entrusted with the new bath-tub shaped wing for the venerable Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam no less – and, since its opening in mid 2012 the equally bizarre-looking Ziggo has lured many a superstar towards the unlovely expanses of Zuid-Oost, an area many Amsterdammers have hitherto associated with the annual trip to Ikea. Pearl Jam was the first international act to grace the stage here, with the giddymaking likes of Madonna, Beyoncé and One Direction in hot, spandexed pursuit.