Oslo Spektrum

Oslo Spektrum
	Oslo Spektrum seen from Sonja Henies plass
Location	Sentrum, Oslo
Coordinates	59°54′46.6″N 10°45′16.7″E / 59.912944°N 10.754639°E
Public transit	Metro: Jernbanetorget stasjon; (); Tram: Jernbanetorget stasjon; ( ); Bus: Oslo Bus Terminal; Train: Oslo Central Station
Owner	Nova Spektrum [no]
Operator	Nova Spektrum
Capacity	6,500 (sport); 9,700 (concerts); 11,500 (max)
Construction
Broke ground	1988
Opened	December 1990
Architect	LPO Arkitektkontor AS
Tenants
	Vålerenga (Eliteserien) (1990–1993); Spektrum Flyers (Eliteserien) (1994–1996)
Website
	www.oslospektrum.no

Oslo Spektrum is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in east central Oslo, Norway, that opened in December 1990. It is currently owned and operated by Nova Spektrum, formerly Norges Varemesse. Oslo Spektrum is primarily known for hosting major events such as the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert, the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, and concerts by artists of national and international fame.

History

Construction and opening

Oslo Spektrum was part of a large-scale redevelopment of the formerly industrial Grønland/Vaterland area. It was developed and designed by LPO Arkitektkontor AS,^[1] and its exterior walls were decorated with ceramic tiles containing fragments of prints by the artist Rolf Nesch.^[2] Since this artist died in 1975, permission was obtained from his living relatives, and the decorating was supervised by painter Guttorm Guttormsgaard and ceramic artist Søren Ubisch.^[3] In 2004, Oslo Spektrum was awarded the Oslo City Council's award for outstanding architectural achievement.^{[citation needed]}

At the time of opening it was Norway's largest indoor arena, with a seated capacity of 9,700 for concerts (which can be increased to 11,500 when combined with a standing audience) and 6,500 during sporting events. In Greater Oslo both Vallhall Arena and Telenor Arena provide larger venues, although both of these were primarily designed to host football matches.^{[citation needed]}

Oslo Spektrum was conceived as a multi-purpose arena although it was intended primarily for ice hockey and featured built-in ice making facilities. In this capacity it was intended as the home of both Vålerenga Ishockey and Furuset Ishockey, but this did not work out as expected. From 1994 to 1996, it was the home arena of the elite series professional ice hockey team, Spektrum Flyers, but the arena proved too large and too expensive for the club, which was subsequently relocated to Bergen. As a result, the arena was left to rely on other means of generating revenue.

Development and renovation

In June 2017, the owner notified Norges Varemesse that they were planning to renovate and expand the arena for more than NOK 1 billion. Among other things, a new congress centre is expected to be built in the city with around 3,000 seats and a total of 20,000 additional square metres. The development was scheduled to start in 2020, and the new centre was expected to open in 2023. The goal of the development is to make Oslo better equipped to be Scandinavia's "conference capital". Today's concert hall, with an audience capacity of approx. 10,000 seats, should be refurbished and include 1,700 extra seats. The renovation work was scheduled to start in the summer of 2019,^[4] but has since been delayed to 2024–2027.

Location

Oslo Spektrum is located in Downtown Oslo, next to the Central Station, long and medium haul bus terminal, Jernbanetorget public transportation hub and the international ferry terminals.

Events

Oslo Spektrum was designed to accommodate various types of entertainment shows and sporting events.

While the arena is now rarely used for ice hockey, it regularly hosts ice shows like Disney on Ice. It also hosts the Norwegian Handball Championships, for a period becoming Norway's largest handball arena. Other notable events that have been regularly held here include the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, Norwegian Idol finals, Spellemannsprisen (Norwegian music awards), the Norwegian Military Tattoo, Norwegian song contests Melodi Grand Prix and Melodi Grand Prix Junior, and the Oslo Horse Show.

Currently, Spektrum hosts a total of 100 events annually, with some 400,000 visitors. Of these, 70% are concerts by major national and international artists, 10% are other types of entertainment shows, 13% are fairs, conferences and corporate events, and only 3% are sporting events.

Artists such as Louis Tomlinson,Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, Alan Walker, Toto, Frank Sinatra, Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, The Cure, Whitney Houston, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, Cher, Mariah Carey, Diana Ross, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson, Shania Twain, Westlife, Selena Gomez, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Anastacia, Spice Girls, Lady Gaga, Michael Bublé, Lana Del Rey, Green Day, Metallica, Vanilla (group), Muse, Rammstein, a-ha, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Marcus & Martinus have performed at the venue.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

References

^ "Oslo Spektrum". LPO Arkitekter (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "Rolf Neschs billedverden". Morgenbladet (in Norwegian). 10 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "Den lille kunstens store forkjemper". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). 27 October 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ Wig, Karl (15 June 2017). "Her er nye Oslo Spektrum: Skal bygges ut for én milliard". E24 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2 June 2019.
^ "Kylie Minogue Setlist". setlist.fm. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ "Forrykende Janet". vg.no. 16 May 1998. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
^ "Det er så spektakulært og velregissert at man rett og slett blir litt vippet av pinnen". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). 2016-11-12. Retrieved 2017-03-26.
^ "Tour". Michael Bublé's Official Website. December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.