Who was the first person to perform at the Waterfront Hall?

Local singer-songwriter Brian Houston was the first person to play here as part of a BBC arts programme filmed while the Hall was still being constructed. The roof was leaking water while Brian performed! We were delighted to welcome Brian back to the Waterfront last night to perform with Chuck Berry for the first of our 10th anniversary celebrations.

Our first public performance was the Ulster Orchestra with Barry Douglas and James Galway.

Who is the biggest name to perform at the Hall?

Depends on your point of view ... With the fast pace of the entertainment industry, the big names of 10 years ago aren't necessarily the same as those of today. But with the likes of Robbie Williams, Sting, Dolly Parton and the late James Brown among the list we can claim to have had many big names perform here. Just last night we had rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry play as part of our 10th celebrations. It was his only UK/Ireland date, and a real honour to have him here at the Waterfront.

We have also welcomed HRH Prince of Wales, the Dalai Lama, former US President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Irish President Mary McAleese, film-maker Guy Ritchie and Bono to some major conferences held at the Hall.

What has been your fastest-selling show?

Until last week it was Dolly Parton, who sold out in 55 minutes back in 2002. However, Razorlight sold out two nights in 11 minutes last Friday.

And your biggest-selling show?

Our pantomime has to take that accolade with over 20,000 people coming to see Aladdin this year. However, if you're thinking of an individual performer then it would have to be Billy Connolly in 2001 who filled the auditorium six nights in a row. That's an audience of over 12,000, and demand was so high we could have sold even more tickets.

Have any of the visiting artists ever had any unusual demands or outrageous riders?

Many artists have a list of requirements that form part of the contract. If we don't provide everything listed, the artist can refuse to perform.

Requests range from the size of the bed in their hotel room, to the type of food and drinks in the dressing room. Some of the strangest requests have included two seats to be booked on a flight for an artist's musical instruments and a specific brand of suppositories for a very famous artist. Another artist stipulated that no-one should walk past or look directly at them! One comedian refused to go on stage until he had eaten a banana ... We couldn't possibly name these people!

Other artists are very relaxed. Robbie Williams played football in our service yard with our technical crew before he went on stage.

Tell us about any last-minute hitches.

Montserrat Caballe was due to perform as part of our Opening Festival but had to cancel on the morning of her performance due to an ankle injury. Fortunately, we were able to find an equally impressive replacement following a phone call from our managing director to Lesley Garrett at home. She agreed to step in and was here in Belfast by 5.30pm and on stage a couple of hours later to the delight of the audience.

We also had a very unfortunate situation when the musical genius Yehudi Menuhin passed away a couple of days before he was due to perform a sold-out concert. Our box office had to contact everyone to let them know within a very short space of time.

What about all-out disasters?

We did have an artist once, Ray Sawyer, formerly of 1970s rock band Dr Hook, who started smoking on stage during the concert and declined to stop. As a consequence the fire alarms were triggered and we had to evacuate the whole building!

How has the use of the Hall changed over the years?

We have fluctuations in the number of bookings every year influenced by industry trends, how many bands are touring etc. But sport is one area that is definitely on the increase; the Hall has hosted boxing, kick-boxing and snooker, as well as Irish dancing, in recent years. We would also have more large conferences now than we did 10 years ago.

Have the peace process and political developments had a big impact on bookings?

Undoubtedly. Belfast is certainly more accepted now as a destination for entertainment and conferencing. The combination of the peace process and the existence of the Hall has definitely raised Belfast's profile and we have been very successful in attracting events to Northern Ireland that previously would not have come here.

What's the largest number of people to appear on stage at one time?

We had 1,000 choristers and musicians on stage during the Ulster Orchestra's Millennium Performance of Mahler's 8th Symphony. It was a very impressive performance and certainly used the auditorium's acoustics to full effect.

The Belfast Waterfront Hall will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary with a programme of special events throughout the year including Razorlight, Jimmy Carr, Sugababes, Aida, and I, Keano. Details of some future events are still to be announced including a Charity Gala Concert. Box office on 9033 4455 or visit www.waterfront.co.uk for further details.