Leisure Opportunities has had confirmation that chief executive of NMEC, Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, is definitely interested in buying the Dome should talks with preferred bidder Legacy break down.

Gerbeau has disclosed that he has obtained financial backing from Japanese bank Nomura, and that he has been in discussions with club operator Ministry of Sound who will be staging the Dome's New Year's Eve finale. Additionally, Gerbeau was rumoured in the Sunday Times to be in talks with event promoter and impresario Harvey Goldsmith to turn the site into a concert venue for a series of spectaculars.

Despite speculation, however, one certainty is that Gerbeau is passionate about the attraction he was brought in to save eight months ago, working 15 hours a day, seven days a week. So much so, in fact, that he will be on holiday in January when the Dome is dismantled because he cannot bear to see the bulldozers move in.