The opening date for Scotland's newest live entertainment venue has been announced.
The Hydro, which is being built next to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow, will officially open for business on September 2 next year.
Once complete, the £125m arena will seat 12,000 people making it the largest purpose-built indoor arena in the country.
Promoters for the venue believe that the the Hydro will help attract mainstream acts to Scotland who have previously lacked a suitable venue to perform in.
It is hoped the arena will attract around a million annual visitors, contributing £131m annually to the Scottish economy.
John Sharkey, SECC chief executive, said: "The entire project team including staff at the SECC should be congratulated for their efforts involved in the process of taking the Hydro on its journey to completion and ready for business.
"The relationship with our naming rights sponsors, SSE (Scottish Hydro) is superb and this association has been invaluable in helping us create awareness to the wider public. Additional official partnerships with leading brands are also in the process of being confirmed."
Negotiations are now under way with major artists to perform at the new venue.
Mr Sharkey added: "We are presently speaking with artists to play a part of the opening night and full opening month next year and now that we have a date it makes it more of a reality - expect an announcement soon."
Energy firm Scottish Hydro is sponsoring the venue and have said they will put an annual £1.5m into the building over the next 10 years.
The project has been led by construction company Lend Lease and architects Foster & Partners.
