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New 10,000-capacity arena planned for Finland

A new 9,800-capacity multi-purpose arena is slated to open in the Finnish town of Hyvinkää by the end of 2026.

The new venue will be built less than 30 miles from Helsinki, where the Russian-owned Helsinki Halli (cap. 15,500) has been mothballed since early 2022.

The estimated cost of the project is €45.6m, which will be shared by the City of Hyvinkää and Laurea University of Applied Sciences. The latter will benefit from a new campus hosted on the 13,000-square-metre site.

Finnish construction company SRV has been awarded a contract to build the Hyvinkää venue, with construction scheduled to start in spring 2025.

“The project has strategic significance for Hyvinkää as a whole”

The firm, which built Tampere’s Nokia Hall, is also developing a new 10,000-capacity arena in the southwestern city of Turku that will replace the Gatorade Center. The €100m Ratapiha Arena, operated by Turku Live, is scheduled to open in 2027.

Antti Nikkanen, property manager for Hyvinkää, says: “The arena project is an important vitality and urban development project that, when realised, will significantly increase the attractiveness of the city centre and the whole of Hyvinkää as the northern centre of the metropolitan area.

“The project has strategic significance for Hyvinkää as a whole. The arena has been in preparation for years and now we are happy when we move together with SRV and Laurea University of Applied Sciences to develop and implement the whole of the arena, which includes sports, event and college campus facilities of the future.”

Read more about Finland’s arena landscape, which also includes Lappi Areena in Rovaniemi (5,500), Espoo Metro Areena (8,582), and the Helsinki Ice Hall (7,000), in the Global Arena Guide 2024.

 


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Helsinki Halli sale wrangle rumbles on

The stalemate over the future of Finland’s Russian-owned Helsinki Halli has continued after the proposed sale of the arena fell through.

The former Hartwall Arena (cap. 15,500), which is owned by Arena Events Oy (AEO) – a company co-founded by oligarchs Gennady Timchenko and Roman Rotenberg – has been mothballed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 due to sanctions against Timchenko and the Rotenberg family.

Rotenberg and Timchenko own a combined 44% of the arena’s holding company, Helsinki Halli Oy, but their combined voting power in the firm accounts for 93.9%.

The City of Helsinki signalled its intention to acquire the venue earlier this year, with a deal reportedly reached and recently approved by the Finnish authorities – only for the Russian side to pull out at the eleventh hour due to the prospect of having the proceeds frozen.

“The shares of the Helsinki Hall that belong to the listed persons are frozen at the moment,” a spokesperson for the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs tells The Insider. “Freezing of the shares does not prevent the hall from being used for its purpose, but it is rather the image related to sanctions and Russia’s illegal war of aggression in Ukraine that has led to the situation in which the hall is not used.

The Finnish government reportedly set aside €200,000 in its budget for the expropriation of the hall

“According to our knowledge, lately the company has not been able to receive any bank services and has had trouble paying its bills.”

The building’s electricity and heating have been cut off, leading to concerns it will fall into disrepair as the weather turns colder.

Helsinki Sanomat reports the Finnish government has set aside €200,000 in its budget for the expropriation of the hall, which it believes may require its own separate law, and plans to start the process this month if a voluntary trade cannot be completed.

“The schedule is one of the reasons why we want the process to be as quick as possible, in order to have a hall that is ready for use,” said Jukka-Pekka Ujula, the head of the city’s office.

Beverage giant Hartwall ended its 25-year association with the arena due to the arena’s Russian ownership shortly after the war began, while concerts by acts such as Elton John, Dua Lipa, Queen + Adam Lambert, Bjork, Eric Clapton, Kiss and The Cure were either cancelled or moved to other venues.

 


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Live Nation to operate outdoor venue in Helsinki

Live Nation has inked a deal to manage Allas Live on Helsinki’s waterfront in 2025, marking the firm’s expansion into Finland’s venue market.

Allas Live is a 2,500-capacity open-air venue within the Allas Sea Pool complex, which includes swimming pools, saunas and restaurants.

As part of the deal, Live Nation will manage the annual Allas Live outdoor concert series, in partnership with Allas Sea Pool.

Launched in 2020, the series attracted 95,000 visitors over 54 shows this summer, breaking a record for the venue.

Popular Finnish artists like Kaija Koo, and Haloo Helsinki! have previously graced the venue’s stage, as well as international acts such as Flogging Molly and Paolo Nutini.

“We are looking forward to the arrival of international artists in particular and, of course, an increase in audience numbers”

Live Nation says plans are in place to increase capacity at the venue to attract more international stars to the city and draw a bigger audience.

“We’re excited to take on the management of Allas Live and expand Live Nation’s venue portfolio to Finland,” says Live Nation will Tomi Saarinen, MD Live Nation Finland.

“Located in the heart of the city, the venue is ideal for artists wanting to perform in Helsinki, and we’re looking forward to elevating live entertainment experiences for fans and artists. The demand for more summer events in Helsinki is clear, and we’re thrilled to be supporting the growth of the city’s cultural scene.”

Raoul Grünstein, chairman of the board of Allas Sea Pool, adds: “Allas Live was launched in 2020 and now with an audience of 95,000 people, has grown to become one of the most important concert venues in Helsinki, particularly during the summer season. The new partnership will allow Allas Live to take its offering to the next level. We are looking forward to the arrival of international artists in particular and, of course, an increase in audience numbers.”

Live Nation Finland recently wrapped a summer stadium run in Helsinki with Metallica, Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen, which had an economic impact of  €114 million and brought hundreds of thousands of fans to the market, according to the firm.

 


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Coldplay tour breaks records in Finland

Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Tour continues its record-breaking spree around the world – this time on the band’s first visit to Finland.

The British band performed four sold-out nights at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium, playing to a total of more than 178,000 people.

Representing the biggest ticket sales of a single residency in Finland by a single act, the feat also doubles the previous record for the number of shows at the venue on the same tour.

The group, who announced their maiden trip to Finland in July 2023, performed at the 45,000-cap venue on 27-28 & 30-31 July 2024.

“The energy and passion of both the band and the audiences made these shows truly unforgettable”

“We are thrilled to have brought Coldplay to Finland for the first time, with a series of four sold-out evenings that captivated audiences and set new records in ticket sales for Finland,” says Live Nation Finland promoter Scott Lavender. “The energy and passion of both the band and the audiences made these shows truly unforgettable.”

Coldplay, who headlined the UK’s Glastonbury festival for an unprecedented fifth time in June, are strongly rumoured to be planning a 10-night run at London’s Wembley Stadium next summer in support of their upcoming new album Moon Music.

“Coldplay want to do something super special for Moon Music and they have discussed the idea of doing a set residency rather than touring across the UK,” a source told The Sun last month. “Wembley has been mooted as a possible location which would work for a 10-date residency, for example. It means they would be able to play to almost a million fans.”

The quartet already played six nights at the stadium on the Music of the Spheres Tour back in August 2022. Although “nothing is set in stone”, if the 10 new dates come to pass, they will better the current record of eight set by Take That Progress Live tour in 2011. Taylor Swift is also set to complete an eight-night run when her Eras Tour returns to the venue later this month.

 


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Euro festival preview: Rock Werchter, Open’er & more

With the European festival season in full swing, IQ is previewing what the forthcoming weekend has in store…

Dutch festival Down The Rabbit Hole (5–7 July) will welcome a sold-out crowd for its 2024 edition, after selling all 45,000 tickets in less than 45 minutes of going on sale.

The Mojo-promoted event at De Groene Heuvels near Ewijk will feature performances from the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Michael Kiwanuka, The National, Jungle, Raye, Jessie Ware and Khruangbin.

Meanwhile, hip-hop festival franchise Rolling Loud will debut in Austria (5–7) as the only European edition in 2024.

The Live Nation Germany-promoted event, dubbed Rolling Loud Europe, will take over Racino in Ebreichsdorf, an open-air venue on the outskirts of Vienna.

Nicki Minaj, Playboi Carti and Travis Scott will headline the premiere, with support from acts including Ice Spice, Shirin David and Don Toliver.

In Belgium, Rock Werchter (4–7) is already underway at Festivalpark in Werchter. The Live Nation Belgium-promoted event is headlined by Foo Fighters, Dua Lipa, Lenny Kravitz and Måneskin. Day tickets have sold out for four of the five dates.

Bombay Bicycle Club, Snow Patrol, Yungblud and Sum 41, The Last Dinner Party, Nothing But Thieves, Avril Lavigne and Khruangbin, Michael Kiwanuka, Arlo Parks and Royal Blood will also perform at Belgium’s biggest festival over the coming days.

Hip-hop festival franchise Rolling Loud will debut in Austria this weekend

Dua Lipa and Foo Fighters are also headlining Open’er (3–6) on the north coast of Poland, in Gdynia, alongside Doja Cat.

Addition acts for the Alter Art-promoted event include Hozier, Charli XCX, Don Toliver, Måneskin, Disclosure, Ashnikko, 21 Savage, Ice Spice, Air, Loyle Carner, Michael Kiwanuka, Floating Points, Kim Gordon, Tom Morello, Sampha and Slowdive.

Ruisrock (5–7), the second oldest rock festival in Europe, will once again take over the national park of Ruissalo in Turku, Finland this weekend.

The Chainsmokers, Hardwell, Disclosure, PMMP and Stormzy are top are top billing for the 2024 edition, which will host up to 35,000 people a day.

Elsewhere, electronic music festival Balaton Sound (3–6) is afoot on the beach in Zamárdi, Hungary.

Marshmello, Alison Wonderland, Adam Beyer, Amelie Lens and Timmy Trumpet are among the acts performing at the event, organised by the team behind Sziget in Budapest.

Other festivals taking place this weekend include Electric Love Festival (AU), Lovely Days Festival (AU), Lytham Festival (UK), Les Eurockéennes de Belfort (FR), Awakenings Summer Festival (NL), Love Supreme Jazz Festival (UK) and Comfort Festival (IT).

 


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Finland’s Provinssi hails ‘best-ever’ edition

Finland’s Provinssi festival has set an all-time attendance record with its 2024 edition.

Over three days, the festival recorded its largest-ever attendance of 85,000, beating the previous record of 81,000 in 2011.

Måneskin, Turnstile, Bring Me The Horizon and Yungblud were among the international acts that performed at the 27–29 June event, in Seinäjoki, western Finland.

Local talent, meanwhile, included PMMP, Jenni Vartiainen and KUUMAA.

“A stunningly great weekend is behind us!” says festival director Ville Koivisto, who was appointed last year. “With the all-time attendance record, the smoothness of the entire event and the great gigs, this has been the best Provinssi ever!”

“This has been the best Provinssi ever”

Provinssi (Province) is one of the oldest festivals in Finland and one of the largest in Northern Europe. The event has been held on the island of Törnävänsaari in Seinäjoki every June since 1979.

Its previous headliners include Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rammstein, System Of A Down, Rage Against The Machine, Linkin Park, David Bowie, Muse, The Killers, Ellie Goulding, The Ramones, Blur Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Patti Smith, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Massive Attack, The Cure and Queens Of The Stone Age.

Provinssi is organised and promoted by Seinäjoki Festivals Oy, which is owned by Selmu ry and Fullsteam Agency Oy (part of FKP Scorpio group).

Fullsteam Agency recently announced that one of its other Finnish festivals, Sideways, will not take place in its current form after 2024.

In a statement, organisers said that “making a festival that is ambitious in terms of content and service offering and larger in size is rewarding but challenging”.

 


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Finland’s Sideways Festival comes to an end

Finland’s Fullsteam Agency has announced that Sideways Festival will not take place in its current form after 2024.

The festival, which launched in 2018, will take place at Helsinki Ice Hall (also known as Nordis) for the last time between 13 and 15 June.

Bat For Lashes, Jungle and Peggy Gou are due to headline the final edition, with acts including Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Fontaines DC and Ladytron filling out the bill.

In a statement released today (28 May), organisers said that “making a festival that is ambitious in terms of content and service offering and larger in size is rewarding but challenging”.

“In particular, the general economic situation of recent years and the rise in cost levels have significantly affected the possibilities of making the organisation of the event in its current form profitable,” it reads.

“We have decided that now is the right time to turn the page and look to the future with an open mind”

The statement continues: “In addition, the long-term planning of the event has been complicated by various uncertainty factors, such as the giant Garden arena, which has been planned for years on the site of the Sideways festival area. Other development projects in the vicinity of Nordis, surrounding construction sites and other events organized in and around the ice rink have also made the development of Sideways challenging in the long term. For example, multi-year lease agreements for the event area, which are typical for the industry, have not been possible for us, which has made planning the continuity of the festival significantly more difficult.

“From the beginning, Sideways’ ideology has included innovation, pioneering, surprise and continuous development. So that there is no need to compromise on these values, we have decided that now is the right time to turn the page and look to the future with an open mind. So we don’t yet know what Sideways will look like in the future or where and when we will gather in the coming years. We will ask our customers for their wishes and thoughts about the future, because the warm and communal atmosphere fostered at the heart of Sideways is thanks to them. We are grateful for the kind of summer weekends we have experienced first at Teurastamo and now during the last seven years at Nordis.”

Fullsteam Agency represents around a hundred domestic acts such as JVG, KUUMAA, Joalin and Stam1na, and organises festivals including Provinssi and Knotfest Finland. Since 2015, the firm has been part of FKP Scorpio.

Fullsteam founder Rauha Kyyrö was recently appointed to FKP’s international board as president touring & artist development.

 


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LGBTIQ+ List 2024: This year’s queer pioneers unveiled

IQ Magazine has revealed the LGBTIQ+ List 2024 – the fourth annual celebration of queer professionals who make an immense impact in the international live music business.

The list is once again the centrepiece of IQ’s annual Pride edition, sponsored by Ticketmaster, which is now available to read online and in print for subscribers.

The 20 individuals comprising the LGBTIQ+ List 2024 – as nominated by our readers and verified by our esteemed steering committee – are individuals that have gone above and beyond to wave the flag for an industry that we can all be proud of.

The fourth instalment comprises agents, promoters, venue directors, bookers, consultants, sustainability experts, talent buyers, managers and sound engineers from across the world.

In alphabetical order, the LGBTIQ+ List 2024 is:

Anna Sjölund, EU programming director, ASM Global (SE)
Ary Maudit, sound engineer/producer, RAK Studios/Strongroom/Saffron Records (UK)
Buğra Davaslıgıl, senior talent buyer, Charmenko (TR)
Caterina Conti, operations manager, 432 Presents (UK)
Chris May, general manager, BC Place Stadium (CA)
Dustin Turner, music marketing agent, music touring, CAA (US)
Emma Davis, general manager/agent, One Fiinix Live (UK)
Gwen Iffland, senior marketing & PR manager, Wizard Live (DE)
Jason Brotman, founder, Five Senses Reeling (US)
Joona Juutilainen, Booking Assistant, Fullsteam Agency (FI)
Luke Mulligan, director, Circa 41 (AU)
Paul Lomas, booker, WME (UK)
Pembe Tokluhan, production/founder/diversity consultant, Petok Productions (UK)
Priscilla Nagashima, VP of engineering, DICE (UK)
Rhys France, corporate & private events booker, CAA (UK)
Rivca Burns, acting head of music, Factory International (UK)
Ross Patel, green impact consultant & board member, LIVE/MMF (UK)
Sam Oldham, venue director, The O2 (UK)
Sam Booth, director of sustainability, AEG Europe (UK)
Zoe Maras, founder & artist services, Joyride Agency (NZ)

Throughout Pride Month (June), IQ will be publishing full-length interviews with each person on the LGBTIQ+ List 2024.

However, subscribers can read the full Pride edition now. Click here to subscribe to IQ from just £8 a month – or see what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below.

Check out previous Pride lists from 2023, 2022 and 2021.

 


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City of Helsinki set to buy former Hartwall Arena

The two-year saga over the future of Finland’s largest arena could finally be nearing its conclusion after the City of Helsinki signalled its intention to acquire the venue from its Russian owners.

The 15,500-cap Helsinki Halli, formerly the Hartwall Arena, has been owned by Arena Events Oy (AEO) – a company co-founded by oligarchs Gennady Timchenko and Roman Rotenberg – since 2013, but shuttered in early 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. All of Timchenko’s holdings in the EU have been frozen, while Rotenberg’s family is the target of US sanctions for their ties with Vladimir Putin.

“The city will take measures to buy the required shares or arena property by sale,” the City of Helsinki tells Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS).

According to YLE, the city is seeking a voluntary deal with the current owners, with a process to expropriate the venue to be launched by early June if an agreement cannot be reached.

“This is an important step towards making the arena operational,” says Helsinki deputy mayor Paavo Arhinmäki. “The events industry in particular has lost a huge number of concerts while the arena has been out of use.”

The publication notes that the foundation operating the arena has already been instructed that it must be prepared to reopen as soon as possible if ownership is transferred to the city.

“At this point, it is not relevant who will own the arena later”

Head of office Jukka-Pekka Ujula tells HS there are no estimates on how much the acquisition would cost the city, which is reportedly losing more than €100 million per year due to the closure. In the meantime, Tampere’s 15,000-cap Nokia Arena has filled the breach as the country’s leading events venue.

Several private parties have failed in bids to buy the arena over the past 18 months, and Arhinmäki indicates the city’s ownership could just be a temporary measure to get the venue back in use.

“At this point, it is not relevant who will own the arena later,” adds Arhinmäki.

YLE previously noted that Rotenberg and Timchenko own a combined 44% of the arena’s holding company, Helsinki Halli Oy, but their combined voting power in the firm accounts for 93.9%.

Beverage giant Hartwall ended its 25-year association with the building due to the arena’s Russian ownership shortly after the war began in 2022. Finland’s Flow Festival also ended its brand partnership with Heineken Silver last year due to the lager firm’s operations in Russia.

 


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FKP Scorpio promotes duo to international board

FKP Scorpio has bolstered its international operations with the appointments of Rauha Kyyrö and Rense van Kessel as presidents touring & artist development.

Founders of Finland’s Fullsteam and the Netherlands’ Friendly Fire, respectively, Kyyrö and Van Kessel have worked with more than 3,000 artists combined since entering the business in the early 2000s.

The duo have been appointed to FKP’s international board and will be in charge of developing the group’s artist booking and promoter activities across Europe.

“Rauha and Rense’s work has been a vital part of our success for several years now”, says FKP boss Folkert Koopmans and CEO Stephan Thanscheidt. “Their new roles as presidents touring & artist development are the next step in strengthening our natural growth and diverse portfolio, with the aim of being the best partner for artists and music fans alike.”

In addition, the firm has recently appointed new directors in Finland (Aino-Maria Paasivirta, head promoter, Fullsteam Agency), Netherlands (Lauri van Ommen, head of promoted shows and Age Versluis, head of touring, Friendly Fire) and Germany (Inga Esseling and Ben Rodenberg, directors touring, FKP Scorpio).

Founded by Koopmans in 1990, Germany-headquartered FKP is part of the global CTS Eventim Group and works with acts such as Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, Noah Kahan, Foo Fighters, Sam Fender, Kraftwerk, Phoebe Bridgers, James Blunt, George Ezra and Mumford & Sons.

FKP is also expanding its collaboration with DreamHaus to co-promote the Rock am Ring/Rock im Park and Hurricane/Southside festivals

Its domestic festival portfolio includes festivals such as Hurricane, Southside, Highfield, M’era Luna, Elbjazz and Deichbrand Festival, while international brands include Greenfield (CH), Syd For Solen (DK) , Best Kept Secret (NL), Lido Sounds (AT), Rosendal Garden Party (SE), Live Is Live (BE), Provinssi and Sideways (FI).

In other news, FKP will expand its collaboration with CTS stablemate DreamHaus by forming a strategic partnership to co-promote the Rock am Ring/Rock im Park and Hurricane/Southside festivals together in the future. Previously, DreamHaus and FKP Scorpio had already jointly organised the Tempelhof Sounds Festival in Berlin in 2022.

“We have always valued FKP Scorpio as a partner and are very much looking forward to further expanding our trusting cooperation,” says DreamHaus CEO Matt Schwarz.

The operational planning and implementation of the respective twin festivals will remain unchanged. FKP Scorpio will continue to act as head promoter and main contact at Hurricane/Southside and DreamHaus in cooperation with eventimpresents and Argo Konzerte at Rock am Ring/Rock im Park.

“We have worked closely with DreamHaus as equals from the very beginning,” adds Koopmans. “We face similar challenges at the festivals, and it is only logical that we use synergies to position ourselves even better on the market.”

 


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