Oslo Spektrum

History

Construction and opening

Oslo Spektrum was built as part of a large-scale redevelopment of the formerly industrial Grønland/Vaterland area. It was developed and designed by LPO Arkitektkontor AS, and its exterior walls were decorated with a mosaic made out of almost 400,000 unique tiles and containing fragments of prints by the artist Rolf Nesch. As Nesch has been deceased since 1975, head of the project obtained a permission from his living relatives to use his work, which was installed under the supervision of painter Guttorm Guttormsgaard and ceramic artist Søren Ubisch. In 2004, Oslo Spektrum was awarded the Oslo City Council's award for outstanding architectural achievement.

Although Oslo Spektrum was intended primarily for ice hockey and featured built-in ice making facilities, it was conceived as a multi-purpose arena. From 1994 to 1996, it was home arena of the professional ice hockey team Spektrum Flyers, but the arena proved to be too large and too expensive for the club, and it was ultimately relocated to Bergen.

The arena had 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.

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, the prospected construction included a new congress centre, cultural venue and high-rise office building adjacent to the venue as an extension 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 was to make Oslo better equipped to be Scandinavia's "conference capital". Additionally, the former concert hall, with an audience capacity of approximately 9,700 seats, would be refurbished and include 1,700 extra seats. The renovation work was scheduled to start in the summer of 2019, but only started in June 2025 after several years of delays, with the main concert arena expected to be completed in the fall of 2026 and the remaining work in the fall of 2028. It will include the first high-rise building over 100 meters to be built in Oslo in more than thirty years. The project is estimated to cost 3.2 billion NOK.

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.

As of 2014, Spektrum hosted a total of 60–70 events annually attended approximately by 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.

A number of music artists have performed at the venue such as Destiny's Child, Louis Tomlinson, Taylor Swift, Tate McRae, 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.

References

References

1. "Oslo Spektrum".
2. (10 April 2015). "Rolf Neschs billedverden".
3. (27 October 2019). "Den lille kunstens store forkjemper".
4. "About us – Oslo Spektrum Arena".
5. Wig, Karl. (15 June 2017). "Her er nye Oslo Spektrum: Skal bygges ut for én milliard".
6. Didriksen, Nina. (February 11, 2025). "Oslo Spektrum skal bli over 100 meter høy".
7. (Feb 11, 2025). "Oslo Spektrum rives: Nå skal det bygges høyere enn på flere tiår".
8. "EnterCard enters into an agreement with Oslo Spektrum".
9. "Kylie Minogue Setlist". setlist.fm.
10. (16 May 1998). "Forrykende Janet". vg.no.
11. (2016-11-12). "Det er så spektakulært og velregissert at man rett og slett blir litt vippet av pinnen". Dagbladet.no.
12. (December 2011). "Tour". Michael Bublé's Official Website.