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transport · 4 min read

Parking at The O2 Arena: what to know before you drive

Whether to drive to a concert at The O2, how parking works on event nights, and how to avoid the slow crawl out of the car park afterwards.

Updated 20 June 2026 · Independent guidance; recheck live event and transport information.

Should you drive at all?

Driving to The O2 can make sense if you are coming from outside London, travelling as a group, or have an awkward late connection home. But on a sold-out night the car park empties as slowly as the station, so weigh the door-to-door time honestly against the tube.

If your main reason to drive is to leave quickly, be aware that the post-show car-park exit is one of the slowest ways off the peninsula. Driving buys you comfort and luggage space, not speed.

Pre-book versus turning up

The peninsula has official car parks beside the venue, and on event nights pre-booking a space is almost always the better move. It locks in a price, guarantees a spot, and saves you circling as doors approach.

Turning up on spec works on quieter nights but is a gamble for a big show. Whichever you choose, note your exact car park and level so you are not hunting for the car in a crowd afterwards.

Beating the post-show car-park crawl

Everyone tries to drive out at once, so the first half hour after a show is the slowest. The simplest fix is the same as for the trains: let the first wave go. A coffee or a sit-down away from the doors can mean you reach a moving exit instead of a stationary queue.

It also helps to know your route off the peninsula before the show starts, and to have it saved offline, so you are not loading a map in stop-start traffic with poor signal.

A park-and-ride style backup, and a quick checklist

If the on-site car parks are full or pricey, consider parking near an outer Jubilee line, DLR or Elizabeth line stop that has its own car park and riding the last stops in. You swap a short transfer for a much easier drive home.

Before you commit to driving, run a quick check: is a space pre-booked, do you know the car park and level, have you saved your exit route offline, and do you have a leave-by time? Parking availability, prices and operators change, so confirm the current details for your event before you travel.

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