The O2 London has pledged to donate tickets to 1,000 local young people, following its own research linking live events to improved mental health ahead of today’s World Mental Health Day, Oct. 10.

Inspired by its charity partner YoungMinds, The O2 examined the link between music and live entertainment and mental health in young people aged 14-25 in the UK (a consumer research company sent a list of 10 questions around mental health and live events to 2,000 young people aged 14 – 25, and the data is a result of that questionnaire, as Pollstar was told upon request).

See: Talking Mental Health On The Road With Tamsin Embleton

A press release sent out by the O2 sums up the results: “In a nation where 52% of young people ‘don’t know’ how to cope with bad mental health, new research has highlighted over 80% of young people agree that music (88%) and live events (83%) have a positive impact [on] their mood and wellbeing.

“Furthering this, a fifth of young people (20%) stated that this positive impact on their mental health is what they enjoy most about attending live events, with over a quarter (27%) citing that their enjoyment comes from the opportunity to forget about everything else they have going on when attending live events.”

Following the publication of these findings, The O2 has announced a new initiative to improve accessibility to live events for local youths in Greenwich, in the south east of London, where the world-famous building is located.

From December 2023 and through 2024, the team of AEG Europe, who operate the building, has pledged to donate over 1,000 arena tickets to young people and their families as part of this initiative, working alongside local charitable youth organization YoungGreenwich.

“The tickets will span a range of event types taking place in The O2 arena over the next year, including music, comedy, and sport,” the press release continues. Already on The O2’s 2024 program are four shows each for The 1975, and Olivia Rodrigo, six shows for Take That, the continuation of Peter’s Kay’s monthly residency, and more.

Research also highlighted that some artists have a more positive impact on the mood and wellbeing of young people than others, with Taylor Swift coming out on top (32%) as having the most positive effects, closely followed by Ed Sheeran (28%). A shared appreciation for artists through dedicated fanbases was also cited as having a positive influence, with nearly two thirds (61%) of young people agreeing that being a part of these online and in-person communities has a positive impact on their mood or wellbeing.