OVO Hydro

OVO Hydro sells hospitality by the year and by the show. Executive suites for up to 16 guests are leased for a year or hired for selected events, and the Hydro Club is an annual membership. The Hydro Club Upgrade and the two premium seat areas, The Terrace and The Nest, are bought one show at a time, and both seat areas are reached by stairs.

What hospitality can you book at OVO Hydro?

For a single show, OVO Hydro has four options. A private group of up to 16 can hire an executive suite at selected events, with balcony seats and a dedicated host. The Terrace (Level 2) is the only premium seat with a welcome drink included (alcohol for over-18s only, ID may be required). The Nest (Level 3) brings fast-track entry and lounge access. The Hydro Club Upgrade adds a private club table to your ticket.

OVO Hydro also has a sponsor-branded VIP lounge. It is a perk for that sponsor's own customers who already hold a ticket to the show, not part of the venue's own hospitality range.

Executive Suites

• Up to 16 guests at each event, with private balcony seating to watch the show
• A dedicated host serving the suite through the evening, with a drinks service. Alcohol is for over-18s only, and proof of age may be asked for.
• Complimentary access to Hospitality Parking
• Hired for selected individual events, or leased annually, which gives private use of the suite for every event in the term and lets the leaseholder add company branding and furnishings

The Hydro Club

• An annual membership carrying the right to buy tickets for each event
• Club Seating, a members' section of the arena bowl
• A members' lounge with private tables and a seasonal menu, and a second lounge for drinks before and after the show, where alcohol is for over-18s only and proof of age may be asked for
• Complimentary parking, queue-free entry and a personal booking service

The Terrace

• Padded, high-style seats at the front of Level 2, with a ledge for drinks, and guests can stand or sit at their seat through the show
• A welcome drink with each ticket, from beer, wine, spirits or soft drinks, and in-seat food, drinks and merchandise service, with anything extra paid for on the night. Alcohol is sold to over-18s only, and anyone who looks under 25 is asked for proof of age.
• Entry is at the standard door time, but some show listings add fast-track entry through the Hydro Club entrance, so check the listing for the night
• Reached by stairs, which the venue says may not suit guests with access needs. The height of the seating may not suit small children, and booster seats are free on request.

The Nest

• Level 3 seats: Row A is low, banquette-style sofa seating and Row B is raised, high-style seating
• Fast-track entry through the Hydro Club entrance
• Access to two members' lounges before and after the show, except that there is no post-show lounge when a matinee is followed by an evening performance
• A Nest ticket includes no food or drink. Anything bought is paid for on the night, lounge food is served until the main act is on stage, and lounge tables are first come, first served.
• Reached by stairs, with the same warning from the venue as The Terrace that this may not suit guests with access needs

What does the Hydro Club Upgrade include?

The Hydro Club Upgrade is OVO Hydro's single-event route into the Hydro Club, and it is valid only with a separately bought ticket for the show. It adds early entry through the Hydro Club entrance on the west side of the venue, a private table in the club for the evening, a merchandise delivery service, and lounge access before the show and for up to an hour after it.

What the upgrade does not include:

• Food and drink. The seasonal menu is there to order from, and the bill is paid on the night.
• Early access to the arena. The club normally opens half an hour before the main doors, and the early entry is to the club only: the arena bowl opens with the main doors.
• A different seat, or a view of the show from the table. The lounge curtains usually close while an act is on stage, so guests watch from the seat on their own ticket.
• Post-show lounge access at morning or matinee performances.

For a group, each guest using the club lounge needs their own upgrade, and the club books the table automatically for the number bought.

Can guests with access needs use the premium areas at OVO Hydro?

At OVO Hydro, The Terrace (Level 2) and The Nest (Level 3) are reached by stairs, and the venue says both may not suit guests with access needs. Most seats on Levels 2 and 3 are reached only by stairs with a handrail. Inside the Hydro Club, lifts run from the ground floor to the bar, restaurant and suite areas, so the club and the suites are the premium spaces to ask about first.

Across the rest of the building, the venue lists:

• Wheelchair positions on the ground floor, reached by ramp, and on Level 2, reached by lift, plus a limited number of wheelchairs to borrow
• One free carer or companion ticket with each accessible ticket
• An infra-red hearing system in Level 2 blocks 204, 205, 206, 213, 214 and 215, with headsets from the Information Desk (the venue says the headsets depend on the touring production, so how they work can vary by event), plus induction loops at the Box Office, Information Desk and cloakroom
• Two Changing Places facilities, one on Level 2 of OVO Hydro and one on the ground floor of the SEC Centre by the East entrance
• Free sensory backpacks to borrow, each holding a fidget toy, ear defenders or earplugs and a feelings card
• Assistance dogs welcome
• Accessible positions booked online or through the venue's accessible booking line

How do you get to OVO Hydro?

OVO Hydro has its own railway station, Exhibition Centre, a three-minute train ride from Glasgow Central. Six trains an hour, around one every 10 minutes, leave Central's low-level Platform 17 for the station. On arrival a lift takes passengers to street level and a covered walkway leads onto the Scottish Event Campus. Anyone arriving at Glasgow Queen Street needs to walk or take a bus to Central first.

• Driving: the campus multi-storey car park on Stobcross Road has blue badge bays across several levels and an accessible walkway into the campus
• Being collected: the campus has a free, designated drop-off and pick-up area, reached from Stobcross Road to the west of the SEC Centre
• Coming from further away: the venue says direct trains from Edinburgh run every 15 minutes on weekdays, and that more than 20 direct trains a day run from London. Check the late services for the night before relying on a train home.

What are the age, bag and payment rules at OVO Hydro?

OVO Hydro sets its age rules event by event and prints them on each show's listing: some listings admit over-8s, while others keep the standing area to over-18s. Unless the organiser says otherwise, anyone over five is welcome in the seats, and the venue recommends that under-14s stay out of the standing area at every event. Large bags and rucksacks are not allowed in, and the venue is cashless.

• Bags: handbags and small carrier bags are fine. Suitcases, rucksacks, backpacks and handbags of A3 size (30cm by 42cm) or bigger are not permitted, and large bags can be left at the cloakroom in the SEC Centre.
• Outside food and drink: generally not permitted.
• Dress code: none, although football colours are generally not permitted.
• Paying: Scottish Event Campus venues are cashless, so the box office, food and drink outlets, merchandise stands and cloakroom take card or contactless payment only.
• Proof of age at the bars: alcohol is sold to over-18s only, and only a passport or a photocard driving licence, provisional licences included, is accepted as proof of age when buying it.
• Timings: the venue says a show's timings are generally confirmed two to three days before the event and then posted on its event page.

What has OVO Hydro hosted?

OVO Hydro staged the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games netball tournament and both ceremonies: the opening on 23 July and the closing on 2 August. The Games organiser says the opening was the first in Games history held in an arena. In August 2026 the operator announced the arena's first Elite Ice Hockey League games, a festive double header for Glasgow Clan, Dundee Stars and Fife Flyers.

Further back, the venue's own list includes the MTV Europe Music Awards, BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The arena opened as the SSE Hydro in September 2013, with a Rod Stewart concert. It was designed by Foster + Partners, with a shallow silver dome 45 metres at its highest point and a facade the venue describes as "pneumatic translucent cushions". It is run by Scottish Event Campus Limited, which is majority owned by Glasgow City Council. The venue says it hosts over 100 events a year.