ROD Stewart started a love affair on the banks of the Clyde the moment he walked on stage at the Hydro Arena, a year ago today.

It was the opening night of Glasgow's newest entertainment venue, which cost £125million, took more than two years to build and defied the effects of a minor fire to raise the curtain on time and on budget.

Rod's rasping voice signalled the start of a major drive to turn Glasgow into one the world's main entertainment stopovers for global superstars.

The city did not have a big enough venue to stage major shows - from pop concerts to musicals.

The Hydro Arena has changed all that.

It can seat 12,000 spectators and is big enough to accommodate the biggest acts on the planet.

Rod got the show rolling and over the past year his footsteps have been followed by the greats - past and present - of the music industry.

The golden oldies, including Black Sabbath, The Eagles, Simple Minds, Depeche Mode, Fleetwood Mac and Barry Manilow have all graced the Hydro stage, as have Arctic Monkeys and Gary Barlow.

But the A list superstars, who arguably would never have performed in Scotland's biggest city unless the Hydro Arena had been built, has included US chart topper Beyonce.

And the Hydro will be the hottest place in Europe on Sunday November 9, when it hosts the 20th MTV Europe Music Awards.

The awards have a potential global reach of more than 700million viewers and the event is expected to inject a whopping £10 million into the city's economy.

MTV presenter Laura Whitmore said Glasgow will be an ideal host city.

She said: "It's got a great musical heritage, unique culture and I hear the Glaswegians love to party."

In contrast, TV favourite, Still Game, is going down a treat with audiences at the arena, which has hosted 147 events since it opened last year.

Still Game alone is running for a total of 21 shows. When the curtain comes down next month, it will have attracted audience numbers totalling 210,000.

Another favourite visitor from the small screen was the Top Gear roadshow.

The distinctively shaped Hydro was also used as a backdrop by television companies - including the BBC - during coverage of the Commonwealth Games.

The gymnastics competitions were staged in the arena.

Glasgow and Scotland's newest and biggest entertainments venue has so far welcomed 1.5million visitors, who have eaten and drunk their way through 24,000 pizzas washed down with 490,000 soft drinks, 380,000 pints of beer and 140,000 glasses of wine.

The number of concert goers has pushed the Hydro into third place in the Pollstar listing of top global arenas.

And the venue is set to remain a major draw in the year ahead.

A spokeswoman said: "We have a host of prestigious events in the forthcoming year, include the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, the 2014 BBC Sports Personality of the Year plus notable "hot tickets" such as Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Paolo Nutini and Lionel Richie."

She added: "The Hydro's focus has always been about customer experience and we have already invested in digital technology, digital signage, high density WiFi, 'arenamation 'and external lighting.

"However, the venue is continuing to look to enhance the overall visitor experience and has engaged with acoustics specialists Vanguardia Consulting.

"We'll also be able to pass on this advice to visiting sound engineers, to help them work with the building."

gordon.thomson@ eveningtimes.co.uk

THE Hydro is already famous for the sometimes eerie night time glow it gives to the Clydeside.

The venue's technicians have the mind blogging choice of more than 12million colour combinations but very often the final word in the lighting effect goes to the performer.

Purple Rain was the name of the sixth studio album by US artist Prince, which became the soundtrack to the 1984 film of the same name.

So little wonder the arena was basked in purple when Prince came to town.

Promoters for Beyonce went for the colour pink, while other distinct colours are requested by charities.

A Hydro official explained: "Aside from experiencing a live event, one of the talking points of the Hydro has been arena's ability to glow in practically any colour requested.

"Lighting up the SSE Hydro is very much a venue decision and of course, our 'usual' colours are that of our main sponsor, SSE. However, we do sometimes get requests from artist's promoters and we consider them all. Similarly, when a charity approaches us to light up the arena in a specific colour, if there is an event on, we have to run this past the promoter."

SUPERSTAR Kylie Minogue is set to make her debut at the Hydro Arena in six weeks time.

The Aussie singer and actress, who helped bring the curtain down at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony at Hempden, takes to the stage for a sell-out concert on Wednesday, November 12.

The gig is part of her Kiss Me Once tour - the title of her of new album which is her first in four years - and is expected to confirm her status as one of the world's most successful pop artists.

The former star of the TV soap Neighbours, Kylie launched her pop career in 1987 and has since released 45 singles and sold 68 million records globally. Kiss Me Once is her 12th album.

Acts lined up for next year include Queen & Adam Lambert in January, followed two months later by US singer Usher who said: "I want to give my fans an ever-changing live show full of surprises and special guests."