It is difficult to bring people home - NRK Oslo og Viken

Oslo lacks a 50,000-capacity concert arena, which is available when it fits the touring schedule of major artists.

Commissioned by the Municipality of Oslo, consultancy Sweco evaluated the decommissioned Huken crushing plant at Lillomarka in Grorud.

The investigation is now available.

It shows that He is Space for 50,000 inside the old crushing plant.

The biggest problem will be getting the audience home when they are outside the arena itself after the concert.

You have to wait for 2 – 2.5 hours

Calculations show that it is possible to move 20-25,000 people away from Grorud in one hour.

Hence the capacity of public transportation is fully exploited. Meanwhile, people are expected to walk or bike, drive a car or taxi, and take the shuttle bus.

With 50,000 it will take much longer:

“In order for us to be able to hold large-scale concerts in Huken, there is a need to accept a longer time before the audience can board transportation. A rough estimate of the necessary filtering time is 2 – 2.5 hours.

What the industry fears

– Unfortunately, this is what my industry colleagues and I feared based on our experience with large events, says Live Nation’s chief promoter Martin Nielsen.

“If we go to a concert, we won’t be very happy with the overall experience if we stand up two hours after the concert after eleven o’clock to get home,” he says.

He also points out that the logistics of the party itself are a challenge as there are only two narrow roads in and out.

– Artists go from there. Martin Nielsen, who stresses that he has not read the report itself, says production will move to the next city.

It won’t end

The investigation was conducted by then-cultural advisor Omar Sami Jamal (SV) last spring.

The City Council has just received it and will not conclude it.

Culture advisor Anita Lervik North (right) says the municipality conducted a thorough investigation into the possibilities in Hocken – and the limitations.

– It should provide us with a basis for evaluating the way forward. She says: I will do this through dialogue with organizers and other relevant actors.

Not since Valle Hoven

The purpose is to attract big name artists to the city. Oslo has long missed a predictable venue for large stadium concerts.

The capital has not had a fixed arena for major artists since 2018.

When Guns N’Roses left the stage in Valle Hovin on Christmas Eve that year, the old ice rink as a concert venue was dead.

Vale was to be demolished and rebuilt. No arrangements have been made for concerts at the new concert.

Withdrawal from Oslo

In recent years, many stars have chosen Oslo. Beyoncé performed in Stockholm in May, but left the tour out of Norway.

So will Taylor Swift in 2024.

And in June of this year, Voldsluka was fortunate to be free when Bruce Springsteen’s tour plans happened.

“We were very close to losing Bruce this year,” Martin Nielsen of NRK organizer Live Nation said at the time.

Disruption with sports

The two sold-out concerts had to be curtailed between the use of the sports stadium in Sajin for sports.

The same is the case in Ekebergsletta. There’s no room for anything but a ton of rocks in June.

For the Olival Stadium, the challenge is that large concerts may have to be booked in advance so one does not know if they will conflict with the international match period. In addition, there is a risk of damage to the grass.