Happy anniversary MOA Arena!

SM Mall of Asia Arena, or MOA Arena as it is popularly known, celebrated its first anniversary by kicking off with a press conference last May 24, 2013. It's too bad though that I was not able to attend because we were in our province that time, enjoying the sight of Mayon Volcano and all the pili I could eat.

I remember I was there when MOA Arena first opened to the public, on the first of the 2-night concert by Lady Gaga on her Born this Way World Tour that almost did not happen. I remember being ecstatic about MOA Arena's beautiful facilities and the notion of finally having an alternative to the venue in Cubao (as a consumer and concert-goer, healthy competition is good :)) And in their first year alone, MOA Arena has hosted world-class artists such as Nicki Minaj, David Guetta, J. Lo, Aerosmith, Swedish House Mafia as well as Kpop superstarts Big Bang, and local productions Foursome, Pinoy Pride, Icons at the Arena, Asia's songbird Regine Velasquez and games of the PBA, UAAP and NCAA.

Truly, its vision of "changing the game and elevating entertainment" was on point in the past year. This year, an amazing line-up of events welcome Filipino concert-goers, basketball fans and even fight/MMA enthusiasts. Here are some of the upcoming events at the MOA Arena - 

Lee Min Ho's My Everything World Tour on July 6 - 

Linkin Park Living Things World Tour on August 13 -

Rihanna Diamonds World Tour on September 19 -

NBA Pre-season Game featuring the Indiana Pacers v Houston Rockets on October 10 -

Disney Live on October 2 to 6 - 

Other events are Ogie Alcasid: I Write the Songs on August 16, King of the Cage on July 5 (headlined by two undefeated world champions), Monster Jam featuring monster trucks and their stunts, NCAA Season 89 and UAAP Season 76 games.

For more information, check out their website - http://www.mallofasia-arena.com.  For tickets, log on to SM Tickets or call 470-2222.