My travel book from 2000 makes a big deal of the Millennium Dome near Greenwich. I understand that, as a millennial exhibition, it flopped. What is going on with it now? Are they going to demolish it/change it into something else/build offices under it/use it to cover the world’s largest flea market?
Great question.
It currently stands empty.
There was talk of turning it into a supercasino (ala Las Vegas stylie), but they just today failed to get approval for the scheme.
There’s been talk of turning it into some kind of grand entertainment venue or a sports stadium.
It is down to be one of the sports venues for the London Olympics, hosting the gymnastics and basketball.
It was a poor opening:
1999
September: Tickets go on sale.
November The dome’s original lottery grant of £400m quickly eaten up, and the Millennium Commission loans dome £50m.
1999/2000 New Year’s Eve Dome celebrations get off to a slow start as invited guests have to queue for hours.
It cost a lot:
The boss of the company that ran the Millennium Dome has spelt out reasons why the firm used up more than £600m of lottery money.
It had loads of problems:
‘David James, who took over as executive chairman of the New Millennium Experience company in September last year, said the biggest problem had been the failure to attract the forecast 12 million visitors.
Writing in the company’s annual report, he also said it suffered from confused priorities, the lack of a clear plan for the contents, weak financial controls and the wrong management structure.’
‘Politicians and managers involved in the Millennium Dome project have been savaged in a damning report by the government’s own National Audit Office.’
The politicians all blamed each other:
'Tony Blair has admitted that he personally insisted the Millennium Dome should go ahead.
As the row surrounding the beleaguered project dominated question time in the Commons, the prime minister told William Hague it was “certainly true that I said it should proceed”.
His confession delighted Mr Hague, who immediately claimed that it was he, not Dome minister Lord Falconer, who should take the rap for the project. ’
There’s more bad news, but I got fed up.
An appalling waste of money by politicians with oversized egos.
Of course Tony Blair later redeemed himself over Iraq… 
The area is currently a huge building site as the Dome itself is converted into the centre of a new leisure and entertainment development to be called The O[sub]2[/sub] (after the phone company). While obviously intended as a significant part of it, the rejected “supercasino” was always going to be alongside a concert venue, a cinema, restaurants and the like.
It’s supposed to open later this year. Their rebranding and the Justin Timberlake concerts are currently being heavily advertised across the city.