Northern Might: Norway Market Report – Part 2
IQ presents the second part of our Norway market report, where we dig into their expansive festival sector and how professionals work around a lack of venues. Catch up on part one here.
Festivals
The extreme geographical disconnection between Norwegian cities is the secret behind the appeal of the country’s festivals, of which there are said to be around 400, many of them performing an important regional function.
“The festival market is huge in relation to the size of the country,” says Osmundsvaag. “There’s so many, and that goes back to the geography of Norway. You don’t just hop in your car and go to an event that is 100 or 200 miles away, because in Norway that’s eight hours with the fjords and the mountains. So, there’s a lot more regional festivals, because a lot of those regions are quite insular.”
A strong example of such a festival is the not-for-profit Parkenfestivalen in Bødo, high up on Norway’s west coast, just inside the Arctic Circle, which this year mixed Keane, Pixies, Sundfør, The Cardigans, and Detroit rapper Danny Brown with national and very local artists. As enticing as the bill sounds, festival manager Gøran Aamodt says the audience is mostly drawn from the surrounding region.
“Almost 90% [of the audience] live in Bodø, and the people travelling to the festival are often people coming back to their hometown to meet old friends and sing along to well-known songs. It ́s a tradition for most people. And to have a sold-out 10,500-capacity festival in a town with 50,000 people is quite special.”
In its own way, Bodø is typical of the industrious, self-entertaining rural Norwegian city, with the Bodø Jazz Open in February, Opptur for Gen Zs in July, the classical Nordland Musikkfestuke in August, and Parken in August – as well as several club venues and a concert house. Predictably, however, while demand for events remains strong, the financial balancing act this year has been a tough one.
“You can see the demographic of the place changing during these festivals to reflect the particular subculture”
“All cities from 10,000 and upwards have their own festival,” says Aamodt. “But Parken is a special case. We sell out the day we release our tickets – 10,500 festival passes in total. So, all in all, we had a good year in terms of selling tickets, but the costs have increased so much that even with a sold-out festival, we are depending on good weather to make it work.”
Pstereo in Trondheim is another key festival clinging hard to its local identity, which general manager Eirik Brevik summarises as local history, food, culture, art, and the constant emergence of young, local artists.
“Pstereo is one of the few remaining independent festivals of its size in Norway and is certainly feeling the market’s changes,” he says. “Faced with rising costs, currency fluctuations, and increasing competition from more commercial festivals, we’ve chosen to remain true to our identity. 2024 has been a particularly good year for us, and we see that as a validation that staying close to our roots is the right approach.”
Given the challenges of travel, Norway’s larger cities – specifically Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim – are typically the only ones that can sustain more specialist festivals, but the compact size of even these larger local markets offers an opportunity for immersive city events.
“It can make for very interesting festivals,” says Egenes. “You go to Bergen for Beyond The Gates if you are into extreme metal or Ekko if you like electronic music, and they bring talent from all over the world to quite a small city. You can see the demographic of the place changing during these festivals to reflect the particular subculture.”
Norway has for decades maintained a persistently thriving metal scene – particularly black and extreme, including Gorgoroth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and the notorious Mayhem.
“We always try to deliver a little bit more than people expect, but we need to do that in a smart way”
Accordingly, Tons of Rock in Oslo, first staged in 2014 and acquired by Live Nation in 2019, has consistently beefed up in recent years to assume the mantle of Norway’s biggest festival, with a heavyweight lineup to match. Metallica, Tool, Judas Priest, Greta Van Fleet, and ZZ Top this year topped a bill that spanned the rock and metal spectrum, while domestic acts on the bill included Seigmen, Abbath, Satyricon, and rising stars Nova Twins and Skynd.
“It was a new milestone this year, we sold out almost all four days, almost 35,000 each day, so that’s 140,000 tickets,” says Nielsen. “And then you always have a few more when it comes to volunteers and partner tickets and guest artist tickets, comps, so I would guess that it was close to 150,000. There’s no festival close to it in Norway and definitely a new Norwegian record.”
Sky Festivals, part of Sky Agency, remains the biggest festival owner in Norway with ten events, including Oslo’s Findings (with Live Nation), the 18,000-cap Festningen in Trondheim, 12,000-cap Utopia in Stavanger, 10,000-cap Landstreff Fredriksten in Halden, and the 15,000-cap IDYLL in Fredrikstad.
“We feel lucky, because we have the most popular festivals in each city, so we are in a good position,” says Opsahl. Nonetheless, he says the year has been one of ups and downs as costs rose and the marketplace lost a little of its ticket-buying enthusiasm.
Sky’s 2021 acquisition, Stavernfestivalen, in the southern city of Larvik has historically drawn 80,000 over three days. But the festival was a four-dayer this year, and even with Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Burna Boy, and others on board, Opsahl concedes it was a day too many in a summer that saw a downturn in demand after two booming post-Covid years
“We made the decision to add a day quite early – even before the festival in 2023,” says Opsahl. “And putting an extra day in the market is something we wouldn’t do if we did it over again.”
Like many other festival promoters, he describes a careful balancing act between quality events and likely revenues, risk, and reward, and he expects 2025 to be every bit as challenging as 2024.
“We always try to deliver a little bit more than people expect, but we need to do that in a smart way; to look at everything, from marketing to partners to budgets and production, and make sure everything we do is cost-efficient,” he says. “We need to start a little bit from the beginning in some places, in terms of what should we put on and how much should we pay for artists. But we still need to make good events that people are happy with and want to come back again next year.”
“The festival model is tailored for this expansive country”
All Things Live’s festivals include Verket, Drøbakfestivalen, Hvalstrandfestivalen, Sarpsborgfestivalen, Lillehammer Live, and Haikjeften, with the aim of creating synergies across the network of events.
“The festival model is tailored for this expansive country,” says Mølleskog. “We collaborate with a team of local stakeholders and strong regional partners in each location to establish unique, community-focused festivals. However, all booking, programming, marketing, and project management are handled by our team. These festivals stimulate local business and help build enduring regional brands across the country.” She adds that All Things Live is open to new launches and collaborations.
A personal favourite among the group’s local festivals is Haikjeften (Shark Jaw) in Narvik, far up in the fjords, Mølleskog notes. “It’s a medium-sized festival that HES has built up, and the whole city gets involved, and it sells out months ahead every year. It creates a great atmosphere in the whole city.”
OverOslo, which takes place at Grefsenkollen, looking down on Oslo from the east, has steadily grown in the past few years, and now draws 8,000 a day over four days. That makes it one of Norway’s bigger crowd-pullers in terms of unique visitors, but it maintains its appeal as a boutique festival, both deliberately and as a consequence of its location.
“We are located on a hilltop, there’s one way up and down, so we do have some issues with big productions and the logistics around that, which limits us a bit,” says co-founder Lars Petter Fosdahl. Nonetheless, the Pet Shop Boys featured in 2022, Van Morrison and Sophie Ellis-Bextor in ’23, Jungle and Melanie C this year, even as the festival maintains an 80:20 split between Scandinavian and broader international names.
“The general development of the industry in Norway is that there aren’t too many indie festivals left that haven’t been bought up by international organisers,” says Fosdahl, who adds that he has no intention of selling out. “It has really been our baby since the beginning, so I think everyone involved here feels a special connection to what we have built.”
“While Oslo may feel more urban and international, Trondheim offers a stronger local identity”
PiPfest’s most recent edition took place in June, headed by Stormzy, Massive Attack, Tom Odell, and L’Impératrice. Its 8,000 capacity will rise to 12,000 next year, with the addition of a third stage. And while there is clearly demand for the right events, Osmundsvaag says promoters need to be extremely watchful as they allocate their resources.
“You have to recalibrate yourself almost on a daily basis,” he says. “And I think you have to be dynamic and proactive and just keep turning the stones and looking underneath, going, ‘Well, was that decision wise? Do we need to rethink that?’ We just need to be very aware of the environment we’re working in and just work harder, really, to bridge that gap of cost versus income.”
Splashing on mainstream talent, he suggests, increasingly looks like a risky and unreliable route to success. “Relying just on the headliners to define you is obviously the easy way out,” he says. “I’m focusing more and more on communicating that if you come to my event, you’re going to have a really good day, taste some really good food, meet some really interesting people, see some really good bands – maybe some bands you didn’t even know existed.”
Key Norwegian industry events include by:Larm in Oslo and the Trondheim Calling showcase festival, of which Brevik was until recently the CEO. “Trondheim Calling is, in my opinion, the showcase festival in Norway that best reflects the Norwegian market,” he says.
“Trondheim is a modern, vibrant student city, which gives the city a youthful and energetic atmosphere. While Oslo may feel more urban and international, Trondheim offers a stronger local identity, closely connected to nature. The fjords, mountains, and its thriving tech scene give the city a distinct role in the broader Norwegian context.”
“We also still miss a national stadium for concerts and events, and that’s what the big acts request these days”
Venues
It is hard to find anyone who is fully satisfied with Norway’s range of larger venues, amid grumbles about the shortage of available outdoor spaces and the lack of options in Oslo between club and arena level.
Oslo’s Spektrum Arena, Norway’s major arena for visiting and domestic artists, is closing for renovations and a 14-month rebuild next summer. Shows will be shifted to the 25,000-cap Unity Arena, previously the Telenor Arena, with Broiler, Simply Red, Billie Eilish, and The Offspring all booked in for 2025, amid horse shows and handball championships.
“It’s a larger arena but not as centrally located, so it will be very interesting to see how this will impact arena touring in Norway,” says Pride at FKP.
Given the emphasis on blockbuster outdoor events, there is an ongoing demand for public spaces, which the city of Oslo is not always willing to indulge.
“There is a big issue in Oslo when it comes to concerts not getting enough focus,” says Nielsen. “We almost had to beg them to get a second night at Voldsløkka to do Bruce Springsteen last year. There are two or three promoters waiting on answers for an outdoor venue where you can hold 15 to 20,000 people, and there’s currently no options. We also still miss a national stadium for concerts and events, and that’s what the big acts request these days. So yeah, it’s a bit tough.”
Among the possibilities is Bjerke Travbane in northeastern Oslo – the harness-racing track where Rammstein played Norway’s biggest show. “The city has gone in with some money now to facilitate asphalt, power etc, trying to make that into a workable concert arena for promoters. We have to go through the costs again when everything is finalised, but so far, I see it as a venue for acts planning to sell at least 30,000 tickets or more.”
“There’s so much going on – almost too much”
Osmundsvaag prides himself on his ability to scope out untried new sites. “I’ve always enjoyed finding new parks and new areas,” he says. “I’ve just found a new one, actually, this summer [Torshovdalen, site of the Klovner I Kamp show]. It actually amazes me that people can’t be bothered to do the work; they just complain there’s nowhere to put on shows. Well, put the hours in, go and find an opportunity.”
He goes to his window and points to the city park, Sofienbergparken, across the road from his office. “I’m actually sat right next to a park now where everyone told me, ‘No, that’s never going to work,’ and that’s where we do PiPfest. You can see where I got the council to put the land power in.”
It is not only in Oslo that promoters are calling for more options for bigger shows, especially given the distinctly seasonal appeal of outdoor areas. Springsteen’s Bergen show was the first to be staged at the city’s cargo port, known fairly literally as Dokken.
“We have a great open-air arena of up to 23,000 cap at Bergenhus Fortress in the city centre – we are the licence holder,” Bergen Live managing director Frank Nes told IQ’s forthcoming Global Promoters Report. “But the need for bigger capacities, and a modern indoor arena, is definitely a major factor if we are to be able to compete with other cities.”
At club level, things are typically pretty good in larger Norwegian cities, but Oslo is particularly blessed. Auditorium AS operates three key venues – the 1,300-cap Rockefeller, the smaller 500-cap basement room John Dee, and the 1,750-cap Sentrum Scene, staging scores of Norwegian and international shows.
Formerly one of the oldest cinemas in Europe, the 117-year-old Parkteatret is now a 500-capacity music venue with a constant stream of local and international gigs. By:Larm uses venues including the 400-cap Blå, the smaller Himmel room upstairs, 150-cap dive bar Revolver, and the 950-cap Vulkan Arena.
“If you go to concerts between 100 and 500 capacity in Oslo, it’s fantastic,” says Egenes. “There’s so much going on – almost too much.”
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Øya taps Jack White to replace QOTSA as headliner
Norway’s Øya Festival has confirmed that Jack White will replace Queens of the Stone Age as headliner of its 25th anniversary edition.
QOTSA have cancelled a further slate of European festival dates due to frontman Josh Homme requiring “continued medical care” at home in the US.
As well as Øya (9 August), the band have pulled out of slots at Sweden’s Way Out West (8 August), Denmark’s Syd for Solen (10 August), Caberet Vert in France (15 August), Lowlands in the Netherlands (16 August), Belgium’s Pukkelpop (18 August) and Portugal’s Villar de Mouros.
“Due to continued medical care, it is under doctors’ orders that Josh Homme remain in their care in the United States,” says a statement posted on social media. “The Homme family and QOTSA are so grateful for the outpouring of well wishes and kind understanding during this time.”
The rock group previously cancelled a run of July festival dates earlier this month after announcing Homme needed to “return to the United States immediately for emergency surgery”.
Air will replace The Smile, who cancelled their August European tour after multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood was hospitalised
Jack White will headline the Friday night of Oslo-based Øya, which has also revealed that Air will replace The Smile on the bill on the same day. The French electronic music duo will play their debut album Moon Safari in full.
The Smile were also recently forced to cancel their August European tour dates after multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood was hospitalised with an infection.
Set for 6-10 August, Øya will also be headlined by PJ Harvey and Pulp, Janelle Monáe and Gabrielle. Other names performing include The Kills, Vince Staples, The National, Slowdive, Big Thief, Arca, Sampha and Idles.
Organisers say this year’s festival is close to selling out, with fewer than 1,000 day tickets remaining for Friday and 400 for Saturday, while week passes are already sold out.
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Peer Osmundsvaag exits All Things Live to go solo
Friction and Atomic Soul Booking founder Peer Osmundsvaag has gone solo following a five-year stint with Nordic live entertainment giant All Things Live (ATL).
The Norway-based promoter’s businesses were among six Scandinavian companies united by Netherlands-based multinational investment firm Waterland Private Equity to form ATL, which launched in 2019. ATL also acquired one of Norway’s largest independent festival organisers, HES, last year.
“I’ve had a great five years with the fantastic team at All Things Live and have many fond memories, but the restless soul in me felt it was time for new adventures,” Osmundsvaag tells IQ.
Osmundsvaag has brought acts such as Eminem, Bon Jovi, Prince, Robbie Williams, Leonard Cohen, Andrea Bocelli, Justin Bieber, Michael Buble, Bruno Mars, Rammstein, Green Day, Lana Del Rey and Ellie Goulding to Norway.
In the wake of his departure from ATL, he plans to focus on his own festival, Oslo’s Piknik i Parken (Picnic in the Park) – aka PiPFest – which he founded in 2014. PipFest’s most recent edition took place last month, headed by Stormzy, Massive Attack, Tom Odell and L’Impératrice.
“I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty, getting back in the trenches and focusing on developing the festival,” says Osmundsvaag. “It’s an inner-city event based on the total experience rather than being purely headliner-driven and we’ve seen lovely, organic growth, which took us by surprise.
“We had a 30% increase from 2023 to this year and a record turnout. It’s 8,000-cap at the moment, but we’re going to expand to a third stage for next year, which will bring it up to 12,000.”
“AURORA has been on our wish list for many years, so we’re very happy to finally got that locked in early”
PiPFest has announced Norwegian superstar AURORA as its first headliner for 2025, which will be held at Sofienbergparken from 12-14 June. Early bird three-day passes priced NOK1,560 (€136) have already sold out. Full price admission will cost NOK2,600, with day tickets available for NOK1,300.
“AURORA has been on our wish list for many years, so we’re very happy to finally got that locked in early,” says Osmundsvaag. “The only show she will be doing in eastern Norway next year will be with us. We only have eight or nine artists per day, which makes it fun but harder to programme as every act has to count.”
The veteran promoter, who was also booker and co-founder of Norway’s Hove Festival, oversaw the two largest ticketed live music events in Norway’s history – Eminem at Oslo’s Voldslokka, which drew 55,000 people in 2018, and Rammstein, who pulled 60,000 fans to Bjerke Travbane horse track in 2022. In 2017, he was awarded the culture prize by the Major of Oslo for “helping to put Oslo on the map as one of the world’s best concert cities”.
Osmundsvaag moved into clubs and ticketed events after starting out as a DJ and free party organiser in Cheltenham, UK in the 80s. Working with rave music promoter Fantazia, he sold 120,000 copies of Fantazia Club Classics as ‘DJ Peer’.
He later toured with British pop group D-Ream as their DJ in 1993/94 before moving back to his native Norway. Following spells as booker for Quart Festival and running clubs in Oslo in the late 90s, he switched to concert promotion and started Atomic Soul in 2001.
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Oslo racetrack upgrade planned to attract top acts
Oslo’s new city council has revealed it plans to invest millions to upgrade an outdoor concert venue in a bid to entice leading international touring artists to Norway.
The Norwegian capital’s Bjerke Travbane racetrack welcomed a 60,000-cap show by Rammstein in July 2022, and the authority is setting aside NOK 5.3 million (€449,400) in next month’s revised budget for improvements to the site, with a target completion date of summer 2025.
VG reports that politicians were compelled to act after Stockholm’s Friends Arena in neighbouring Sweden was selected to host the three Scandinavian dates on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and decided that enhancing an existing venue would provide a fast and cost-effective option.
“For us, it has been important to get this in place, and quickly, because the city needs it,” says Hallstein Bjerck, city councillor for finance. “We will not stand by and watch Taylor Swift go to Stockholm, and not to Oslo.”
Bjerke Travbane general manager Hilde Apneseth says it would also be possible to stage concerts on a smaller scale at the outdoor venue, perhaps of around 30,000-capacity.
“We hope that there will be concerts several times during the year, especially in the period from mid-June to mid-August,” she adds.
“It will still be a big challenge to get Coldplay, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and so on to say ‘yes’ even though we have Bjerke”
The move has been backed by All Things Live Norway‘s Peer Osmundsvaag, who says: “This will avoid many one-off costs, so you can lower the threshold. There are several Norwegian bands that can sell 20,000 tickets here. If you manage to do this, you can perhaps get between six and 10 concerts during a season.”
However, Live Nation Norway general manager Martin Nielsen sounds a note of caution, warning that many of the biggest acts will still prefer to play stadiums, both for financial and production reasons.
“It will still be a big challenge to get Coldplay, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and so on to say ‘yes’ even though we have Bjerke,” he tells VG. “In a stadium, you can operate with several price ranges, preferably seven or eight different ones, and then sell the best seats at a higher price.
“In a flat area like Bjerke, you can at best have one slightly more expensive ‘golden circle’ near the stage, while the other tens of thousands become standing room with the same price for everyone. If you only have two ticket price levels, it will obviously be much more difficult to maximise income.”
Despite bringing Bruce Springsteen to Oslo for two nights last summer to 50,000-cap greenfield site Voldslokka, Nielsen warned in IQ‘s 2023 Global Promoters Report that a dearth of suitable venues for the largest productions was a major obstacle.
“A key issue is that we don’t have a big stadium in Norway,” he said. “A lot of the tours are built for stadiums, and they don’t want to play [in Norway] unless it’s a stadium.”
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25 years of Øya Festival: ‘It’s been a fun ride’
Øya Festival chief Claes Olsen has looked back on the history of the event as it prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary this summer.
The 22,000-cap gathering, which is one of Norway’s leading festivals, will reach the milestone at Oslo’s Tøyen Park from 6-10 August, topped by PJ Harvey, Pulp, Queens of the Stone Age, Gabrielle and Janelle Monáe.
Speaking to IQ, the Øya founder, owner and booker reveals that tickets are moving at an impressive pace.
“I think it’s the third best year ever at the moment, so I hope that we will be sold out.” says Olsen.
Since launching in 1999, Øya has hosted the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, Lana Del Rey, Beck, Blur, Kendrick Lamar, Florence and the Machine, The Stone Roses, Björk, Kanye West and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
“Time flies,” says Olsen. “It’s crazy, but it’s been a long ride – a fun ride – and I don’t regret anything about it at all.”
“Everything was so strict in the 90s. If you listened to one kind of music, you couldn’t listen to another. There were so many unwritten rules”
Reflecting on the festival’s origins, Olsen says it was developed initially to help highlight the domestic live music sector, but has evolved its output through the years as the public’s musical preferences have become less tribal.
“We were friends running tiny, 100 to 300-cap venues in Oslo and saw this emerging scene of new artists that weren’t getting to play festivals in Norway,” he remembers. “There were very few festivals at that time and they were hard to get into for domestic acts, so the original idea was to showcase the scene.
“These acts would be selling 200-400 tickets each because it was a small market at that time, so we thought, ‘Okay, they’ll sell 300, they’ll sell 400, they’ll sell 500,’ and added it all up. But you can’t do that because it’s a lot of the same people buying tickets and the lineup was not that diverse.”
He continues: “There has been a slow evolution both of our own music tastes, and also the general perception of music. Especially in the 90s, everything was so strict: if you listened to one kind of music, you couldn’t listen to another, and there were so many unwritten rules at that time.
“That slowly changed for us, but part of the festival’s DNA is to still be part of the local music scene and so around 50% of acts playing the festival are still domestic. We’ve spent a lot of time booking them but also marketing them and putting in a lot of effort to keep them growing.”
“We had Sonic Youth as the headliner [in 2005] and that was a shift. After that, it became easier to book international artists”
Olsen regards the 2005 edition as a turning point in the festival’s history.
“We had Sonic Youth as the headliner, and that was a shift that got us more attention internationally,” he recalls. “After that, it became easier to book international artists, so 2005 was a particular highlight.”
Øya entered into an investment agreement with Superstruct Entertainment in 2018, with the festival’s senior leadership joining Superstruct’s management team. However, Olsen says it has largely been “business as usual” since the deal.
“I feel like everything we agreed upfront is what they are doing, so we have managed to retain that independent feeling, which is important for us,” he says. “We’re a group of people who are doing this for the love of the music.”
Alongside this year’s Thursday night headliner Monáe, other acts announced for the 2024 bill today include Jorja Smith, Jessie Ware (who performed her first ever show in Europe at Øya in 2008), Slowdive, Thee Sacred Souls and Seyi Vibez.
“You’ve got to be on your toes and deliver every year so that people keep coming back”
Olsen reveals a series of special events are also being lined up to mark the festival’s silver anniversary.
“In the first year, the festival was held in June, so we are going to do a couple of things in Oslo around the date in June, and then some special shows at the actual festival,” he says. “But most of the other stuff is business as usual – you’ve got to be on your toes and deliver every year so that people keep coming back.”
Week passes are priced at 4,169 NOK (approximately €355), while individual day tickets are 1,454 NOK (€124), while discounted weekly passes for 12 to 17-year-olds are already sold out for 2024. Organisers have also introduced premium Øya Pluss tickets, offering access to the guest area.
“We did it for the first time last year, instead of increasing the price of general admission tickets,” explains Olsen. “That has helped a bit, but of course costs are increasing a lot. So it’s not easy, but we have to work hard on other income streams.”
Olsen acknowledges, however, that being on the frontline in the Norwegian live business is far from straightforward at present – especially given the exchange rate.
“Since this is an anniversary year, we have tried to look backwards a little bit, but also be very current”
“It’s not been easy; it’s been really hard work,” he says. “We are in huge trouble with the Norwegian currency, so it’s super-cheap for people to come to Norway, but for us to book artists, paying in euros and dollars, is insane. Back in 2011, the dollar was 5 NOK and now it’s 11 NOK, so it’s more than doubled and that’s a significant change.
“Apart from that, we’re really happy with the programme; it’s very diverse. Since this is an anniversary year, we have tried to look backwards a little bit, but also be very current. That mix is super-important. It’s something that we have always done, but have maybe had a bit more focus on it this year.”
Øya has also maintained its commitment to gender equality, having achieved a 50/50 split between male and female artists on the bill since 2017.
“The first year where we had 50/50 on the headliners was 2010 when we had M.I.A. and Robyn,” he remembers. “It was hard but we had confidence about what was coming through and felt it would get easier. I think we have 56% female-led acts this year in the total, so it’s not a problem anymore at all.”
The festival’s sustainability efforts, meanwhile, have seen it honoured at both the European Festival Awards and A Greener Festival Awards. Examples of its environmentally responsible practices include running the event entirely free of fossil fuels, using renewable power for 98% of its requirements, and hand-sorting waste to ensure that 75% of it can be recycled.
“Our sustainability work is something we started back in 2004, so it’s actually the 20-year anniversary for that.” notes Olsen. “We try to push the boundaries of what’s achievable and be a frontrunner when it comes to sustainability, and also in a broader way with equality and being a safe space.”
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Springsteen’s Oslo concerts to be battery powered
Live Nation Norway will introduce electricity from mobile batteries for Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming concerts in Oslo, Norway.
Springsteen and The E Street Band are due to play two concerts at Voldsløkka (cap. 40,000) on 30 June and 2 July.
Thanks to a new partnership between LN Norway and Norwegian renewable energy and technology company Eviny, the gigs will use electricity from mobile batteries – thereby significantly reducing the use of diesel generators.
Live Nation Norway festivals Tons of Rock and the newly launched Vaulen Open Air will also benefit from the introduction of Eviny’s batteries.
“At Live Nation Norway, we are taking the lead in finding new, emission-free solutions”
Eviny has been producing clean renewable energy from hydropower for over 100 years and is now investing in mobile batteries and energy solutions to slash emissions within Norway’s live music scene.
The partnership sees the promoter take a step closer to decarbonising its festivals’ energy sources, seven years ahead of the original goal date of 2030.
“At Live Nation Norway, we are taking the lead in finding new, emission-free solutions,” says Martin Nielsen, head promoter in Live Nation Norway. “Eviny will now become an energy partner where the goal is to take action and make a difference to pave the way for a more sustainable live music scene both nationally and globally.”
Marit Meland, business developer at Eviny, adds: “We see a huge interest from several industries that are moving full speed ahead into the green shift. We see more and more interest from markets where there is a temporary need for electricity. The live music scene is a part of this, both when it comes to concerts and other types of events.”
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All Things Live continues acquisition spree in Norway
All Things Live is strengthening its foothold in Norway with the acquisition of Oslo-based event agency All-In.
The deal comes weeks after All Things Live purchased one of Norway’s largest independent festival organisers, HES.
The group’s Norwegian business already spans booking, promotion, events, comedy and festival activities via subsidiaries Stageway, Komon Stageway, Latter and Stand Up Norge.
All-In was founded in 2017 by Jens Nesse, Jan Fredrik Karlsen and Petter Stordalen and now employs 10 people to work with corporate events, concerts and conferences for Norwegian and international customers.
In 2022, All-In had revenues of NOK 133 million (€9.9m) and NOK 15 million (€1.3m) in profits.
“We are proud of what we have achieved in All-In,” says Jens Nesse, co-founder and CEO of All-In. “After founding the company in 2017, the business has grown to become what we dreamt of. Becoming part of a family as ambitious as All Things Live will provide us with even more fuel to accelerate in the coming years.”
“We will gain a stronger foothold in an important market, enabling us to create even more unique experiences”
“We have found everything we were looking for in All Things Live. Loads of experience, great enthusiasm and a wide range of competencies. It is a powerful team with great resources within our field. What is not to like?” adds co-founder of All-In, Jens Fredrik Karlsen.
Gry Mølleskog, CEO of All Things Live Norway and the All Things Live Group: “The acquisition of All-In strengthens All Things Live’s position in the event market in Norway. In combination with our ownership of Komon-Stageway, we will gain a stronger foothold in an important market, enabling us to create even more unique experiences for our customers.
“The competencies in these two great event companies combined with the strong teams in Latter and Stand Up Norge, Komon-Stageway and HES will make All Things Live an even more attractive partner in the Norwegian event industry.”
In the last 12 months, the All Things Live group has acquired Agents After All (the Netherlands), Musickness (Belgium), Radar Concerti (Italy) and Amaze Festival (Sweden), alongside HES and All-In.
Since the Nordic group was founded by Waterland Private Equity in 2018, it has expanded to seven European countries and 19 companies, with offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Brussels, Milan and Amsterdam.
The company’s portfolio ranges from musical productions to music festivals and standup events to stadium concerts, with The Rolling Stones, Eminem, Katy Perry and Rammstein among its clients.
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All Things Live buys Norwegian promoter HES
All Things Live has acquired one of the largest independent festival organisers in Norway, HES.
Founded in 2010, the Oslo-based company is a full-service provider of festival organisation and operations.
HES’s 13-strong team is involved in festivals including Verket, Drøbakfestivalen, Hvalstrandfestivalen, Sarpsborgfestivalen, Lillehammer Live and Haikjeften, as well as music venue Verket Scene.
The acquisition sees All Things Live’s footprint in Norway expand to cover booking, promotion, events, comedy and festival activities via subsidiaries Stageway, Komon Stageway, Latter and Stand Up Norge.
“The HES team has built a strong business with clear growth prospects on the back of proven capabilities within festival organisation and operations,” says Gry Mølleskog, CEO of All Things Live Group.
“Since 2010, the team has established several successful festivals entertaining thousands of people every year, and we are pleased to welcome HES as part of All Things Live in Norway with a view to developing the business and accelerating the positive developments in the years ahead.”
“The HES team has built a strong business with clear growth prospects”
The management team – consisting of CEO Hans Petter Haaland and head of market Erle Strøm – and the organisation of HES remain unchanged, and existing contracts and customer relationships are not affected by the transaction. The current owners of HES become partners and co-owners of All Things Live.
“We are thrilled to team up with All Things Live and look forward to collaborating closely with a leading and respected European live entertainment player to build on our successes in Norway and create even greater live experiences for our audiences together,” says Hans Petter Haaland, CEO of HES.
“For more than a decade, we have organized and run more than 50 festivals and promoted many of Scandinavia’s best artists, and we will continue to do so with an even stronger organization as part of the All Things Live partnership.”
In the last 12 months, the All Things Live group has acquired Agents After All (the Netherlands), Musickness (Belgium), Radar Concerti (Italy) and Amaze Festival (Sweden).
Since the Nordic group was founded by Waterland Private Equity in 2018, it has expanded to seven European countries and 19 companies, with offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Brussels, Milan and Amsterdam.
The company’s portfolio ranges from musical productions to music festivals and standup events to stadium concerts, with The Rolling Stones, Eminem, Katy Perry and Rammstein among its clients.
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All Things Live promotes Norway’s biggest-ever gig
All Things Live has smashed the attendance record for a concert on Norwegian soil, hosting 60,000 fans at a Rammstein show.
The event took place on Sunday 24 June at Bjerke Travbane in Oslo and was the first-ever concert held at the horse racing track.
The previous attendance record was set by All Things Live subsidiary Atomic Soul with Eminem’s 2018 performance at Oslo Sommertid festival.
The rapper drew around 55,000 fans to the capital’s Voldsløkka sports stadium after tickets sold out in just six minutes.
Commenting on the Rammstein show, All Things Live Norway promoter Mark Vaughan says: “Bjerke Travbane was a fantastic venue to present this massive show. It doesn’t come any bigger than Rammstein and both band and crew were extremely happy after the show.”
All Things Live Norway has secured an exclusive agreement with Bjerke Travbane going forward, which will be the largest capacity arena in Norway.
“We have worked and invested a lot to make this venue compatible for the biggest artists in the world, now we have proved it works and we are looking forward to bringing stadium artists to Norway going forwards!” says Peer Osmundsvaag, All Things Live Norway.
“We are looking forward to bringing stadium artists to Norway going forwards”
News of the record-breaking concert comes as All Things Live announces yet another acquisition.
The private-equity-backed live entertainment group has sealed the deal with Stageway, a leading Norwegian live entertainment group that deals in artist management, booking and promoting.
The Bergen-based group’s activities are conducted via three companies: Stageway Talent, Komon Stageway and Stageway Teater.
Stageway Talent provides booking and promotion services across genres for a roster of more than 30 artists; Komon-Stageway delivers turnkey event solutions for large corporate customers and Stageway Teater produces comedy shows and acts as a management service provider for renowned Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis, among others.
Arne Svare, co-founder and CEO of Stageway, says: “We are so pleased to announce that we are joining forces with All Things Live to accelerate our joint business in Norway, the Nordics and beyond in the coming years. We have been part of the bustling live entertainment industry for four decades and known and respected the team behind All Things Live for years. Together, we will strengthen our offering to artists and customers while delivering even greater experiences for the audience.”
Knut Meiner, chairman and senior consultant of Komon-Stageway, adds: “Everyone in our companies have worked hard to build a strong reputation in the Norwegian market. We are absolutely thrilled to become part of a partnership, which is well-respected and shares our aspiration to grow the business based on deep understanding of the local market and a clear focus on bringing great live entertainment and fantastic corporate events to more people.”
“Stageway is a great business with fantastic talent, strong growth prospects and a perfect fit with our existing operations”
The management team and organisation of Stageway will remain unchanged, and existing contracts and customer relationships will not be affected by All Things Live’s acquisition of Stageway Talent, Komon-Stageway and Stageway Teater. In connection with the transaction, the current owners of the three companies become partners and co-owners of All Things Live.
“Stageway is a great business with fantastic talent, strong growth prospects and a perfect fit with our existing operations in All Things Live Norway. We are very pleased to welcome the great people behind Stageway who will contribute greatly to the development of our partnership in Norway and internationally,” says Kim Worsøe, member of the executive board of All Things Live Group.
Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the Norwegian Competition Authority. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
All Things Live has been on an acquisition spree in the past fortnight, this week enhancing its presence in Belgium with the addition of management company Musickness.
Last week, All Things Live signalled its expansion into the Italian market with the acquisition of promoter and agency Radar Concerti and also recently announced the signing of international management firm Then We Take The World.
All Things Live was established in 2018 as “the new independent market leader in Nordic live entertainment” following Waterland Private Equity’s acquisition of six leading Scandinavian promoters and agencies.
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Live Nation loses court case over Oslo park slot
Live Nation Norway has lost the civil case it brought against Oslo Municipality for awarding All Things Live the concert allocation for Voldsløkka sports park.
The Urban Environment Agency’s guidelines, which apply from 2022 onwards, state that the area – mainly used for sports – can only be used for one large music event annually, with a maximum of two concert dates.
In addition, there is a requirement that the main artist must have the potential to sell 40,000 tickets or more.
According to Live Nation Norway, it had presented confirmation documents for renting Voldsløkka in the summer of 2022. But All Things Live, a private equity-backed live entertainment group, was awarded the allocation to stage Norway’s largest festival, Oslo Summer Time (cap. 55,000), on 24 June.
Oslo Summer Time has taken place at Voldsløkka since it was founded in 2017 and has drawn artists including Eminem, Pusha T and Marcus & Martinus.
Live Nation claimed that the allocation was contrary to the municipality’s own guidelines, according to Aftenposten. The live entertainment giant felt discriminated against and says that the municipality gave the competitor All Things Live advantages.
“It is quite obvious that the arena situation is critically bad in Oslo”
“It is quite obvious that the arena situation is critically bad in Oslo,” general manager of Live Nation Norway, Morten Valestrand, previously told Dagbladet.
“As the capital, one should be able to expect the municipality to facilitate such large concerts, but we feel this is not the case now. What we are asking for is simply that they follow their own guidelines and ensure equal treatment of the organisers. We believe that one must be able to expect this.”
The municipality agreed that access to large arenas for concerts in Oslo is a scarce commodity, but that the guidelines for the use of Voldsløkka had been prepared following input from the industry.
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