Sky Festivals acquires Norway’s Stavernfestivalen

Sky Festivals, the largest festival owner in Norway, has acquired Stavernfestivalen, the country’s most popular music festival, which has taken place near the city of Larvik since 2001.

Stavernfestivalen, which moved to its current home at the Larvik Golf Arena in 2015, welcomed more than 80,000 guests across three days in 2019, with revenue of more than €10 million. Sky Festivals already owned 50% of the event, and has now acquired the remaining 50% of shares from festival founder Roger Albin.

Past performers at Stavernfestivalen include Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Post Malone, Travis Scott, Kygo, Neil Young, Sting, Bob Dylan, Roxette, David Guetta, Pharrell Williams and Alan Walker.

“We are determined to make Stavern 2022 the biggest and best version ever”

Sky Festivals – part of Sky Agency – adds Stavernfestivalen to a festival portfolio that also includes the 20,000-capacity Findings Festival in Oslo (co-owned with Live Nation); Festningen (18,000-cap.) in Trondheim; Utopia (12,000-cap.) in Stavanger; Landstreff Fredriksten (10,000- cap.) in Halden; and Idyllfestivalen (15,000-cap.) in Fredrikstad.

“We strongly believe in the Norwegian festival market for the years to come, and Stavern is a very strong brand that we really feel we can on keep growing in the future,” says Trond Opsahl, Sky Festivals co-founder (with Christoffer Huse), CEO and festival booker. “We are determined to make Stavern 2022 the biggest and best version ever.”

Stavernfestivalen returns for its 20th anniversary next summer. At press time, only festivals of up to 5,000 people are allowed in Norway, even with rapid testing, and must be divided into groups of just 500.

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