2:10PM.
I was going to write this post tonight, but since I just heard that the venue for next year's contest will be announced in less than an hour, I just have to write a few lines about that ... just to see if I'm right. I'll update this post later.
Obviously there isn't much to choose from. When cities like Trondheim and even Tromsø :-D have declared themselves ready to host the final I've just had to laugh. Dream on. The demands on the venue and on the host city are quite specific and pretty high ... there are very few places in this country that fulfill them. And as for this fancy idea about using the Opera roof ... well ... taking a look at the list of requirements would be a good idea before throwing out something like that. The show must be held indoors. Sorry.
OK, so, since we aren't going to build anything new - there isn't time and it'd be too expensive - there are only four places in this entire country that are even worth considering:
Telenor Arena
Oslo Spektrum
Vallhall
Vikingskipet
That's it. And seriously, looking at that list, what's to choose from? The Viking Ship - no, Hamar doesn't have the facilities for housing and feeding as many people as the EBU demands, and no way can we shuttle the reporters and fans between Oslo and Hamar. We're trying to give Europe a good impression of Norway, so let's not bring Norwegian Rail into it. ;-) Vallhall - pretty new and fancy, but it's built for football games. We can do better. Oslo Spektrum - despite what people think, not a good venue for concerts. Why use something old and so-so when we have something new and better? Telenor Arena is almost brand new, it's state-of-the-art, it's the best we've got. What's to choose from? Welcome to Bærum in 2010 ... !!! :-D
3:40PM.
It's official: Oslo will be the host city for the second time. No contest. NRK boss Bjerkaas says it'll be either Spektrum or Telenor Arena. Oh, please, not Spektrum ... !! Either though will be v. convenient for yours truly. ;-) But I'm very disappointed because of something else - they've changed the dates. :-o They've moved it from May 22nd to the 29th. Oh noes!! That means that Constitution Day next year won't be part of the party as I'm sure we've all hoped that it would be. I mean, if we're going to show ourselves off to all of Europe anyway. :-( I hate football.
Posts
4 hours ago
3 comments:
Oslo Spektrum is a horrible, horrible venue.
I don't understand your argument against Valhall: yes, it was built for football games, but so was Telenor Arena. The real argument against Valhall is that it's too small, and due to design and construction errors, the ceiling trusses can't carry the weight of a full-blown light and sound rig.
Heisann! Just to give you some great big news. Jeg skal reise til Oslo i juni! Det er bare 3 dager, men... haaper vi kan sees! More news later (hopefully in my letter still to be written.... :-D)
Ha det bra!
DES, yes, of course you're right, I wasn't thinking. I wrote this post in a hurry at work (I wanted to beat the announcement ;-).
The main point, anyway, is that Telenor Arena is the newest and most high-tech venue available, so IMO it's the obvious choice. Spektrum would be a horrible choice IMO.
Marcos, OMG, you're coming to Norway?? :-o That's fantastic!!! :-D We have to meet up!! Of course!! Just let me know when and where! :-)
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