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Globen (Avicii Arena)

Globen
Globe celebrates 30 years, February 2019.
Former names	Stockholm Globe Arena (1989–2009) Ericsson Globe (2009–2021)
Location	121 77 Johanneshov, Stockholm, Sweden
Coordinates	59°17′36.80″N 18°04′59.65″E / 59.2935556°N 18.0832361°E / 59.2935556; 18.0832361
Public transit	Globen
Owner	City of Stockholm via SGA Fastigheter
Operator	AEG Live
Capacity	13,850 (ice hockey) 16,000 (concerts)
Record attendance	17,303 (Metallica, 5 May 2018)[1]
Construction
Broke ground	10 September 1986 (1986-09-10)
Built	1986–1989
Opened	19 February 1989 (1989-02-19)
Architect	Svante Berg, Lars Vretblad
Tenants
Sweden men's national ice hockey team AIK Hockey Djurgårdens IF Hockey
Website
aviciiarena.se

Avicii Arena, originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena and previously as Ericsson Globe,^[2] but commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (pronounced [ˈɡlǔːbɛn] ^ⓘ; lit. 'the Globe'),^[3] is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockholm, Sweden.

The arena represents the Sun in the Sweden Solar System, the world's largest scale model of the Solar System.^[4][5]

Avicii Arena was the largest spherical building on Earth until September 29, 2023 and took two and a half years to build.^[6] It has a diameter of 110 metres (360 ft) and an inner height of 85 metres (279 ft). The volume of the building is 605,000 cubic metres (21,400,000 cu ft) and it has a seating capacity of 16,000 spectators for shows and concerts, and 13,850 for ice hockey. In the upper area there are 40 VIP boxes and a restaurant.

The steel, concrete and glass construction designed by the architects Berg Arkitektkontor AB is supported by a MERO space structure.

Globen was inaugurated on 19 February 1989 after a construction period of less than three years. The first major events were Melodifestivalen, the Ice Hockey World Championships and the Men's European Volleyball Championships.

In 2009, the naming rights to the Stockholm Globe Arena were officially acquired by Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, and it became known as the Ericsson Globe.^[7]

In 2021, it was announced that the arena would be renamed the Avicii Arena in honour of the late Swedish DJ Avicii, who died in 2018. To commemorate the new name, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra recorded a performance of the Avicii song "For a Better Day", with vocals provided by fourteen-year-old Swedish singer Ella Tiritiello.^[2][8]

In June 2022, it was decided to renovate and modernize the arena throughout 2024, with a view of hosting the 2025 IIHF World Championship (which is to be jointly held in Sweden and Denmark) and as part of the unclear Stockholm bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics. After the scheduled reopening at the start of 2025, the neighboring Hovet arena is scheduled to be demolished and the site is to become part of the new district of Soderhov.^[9] In July 2023, it was announced that the NCC company had received the contract for the renovation.^[10]

The Globe is primarily used for ice hockey, and is the former home arena of AIK, Djurgårdens IF, and Hammarby IF. It is also used for musical performances as well as other sports than ice hockey, for example futsal (indoor football). The third team to play a home game in their league was Huddinge IK (three home games there, all in 1993), followed by Hammarby IF (20 home games in Globen so far) and AC Camelen (one game in 1998, in the sixth level league, with 92 spectators).

The first international game played in Globen was between Hammarby IF (Sweden) and Jokerit (Finland) a couple of weeks before the grand opening, although the players were only 12 years old at the time (born 1977) and it was a friendly game.

The arena hosted the final of Sveriges Television's yearly music competition Melodifestivalen, Sweden's qualifier show for the Eurovision Song Contest, until 2012. The show returned to the arena for the first three heats of the 2022 competition.^[11] It also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000 and 2016.

In March 2021, it hosted the World Figure Skating Championships despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, it hosted the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament Major Stockholm 2021.

Since 2000, the National Hockey League has used the arena for occasional games, both in the preseason and the regular season. The most recent games at the arena were two regular-season games between the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning in November 2019, part of the NHL Global Series event. The Global Series returned to Avicii Arena in November 2023, with the Senators returning and being joined by the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Each team played two games during the event.^[12][13]

A small cottage in aluminum with a 12-square-metre (130 sq ft) base was placed upon the Globe on 26 May 2009. The artist, Mikael Genberg, intended it to illustrate two important symbols for Sweden: the high-technology Globe building and the traditional, simple small countryside cottage in Falu red with white trim. The house was positioned some distance from the exact top position of the Globe. Genberg also hoped to eventually place a similar cottage on the Moon, which has not yet happened.^[14] The cottage remained on the Globe until October 2009.^[15][16]

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Opened in February 2010,^[17] Skyview is an exterior inclined elevator which transports visitors to the top of the arena for a virtually unobstructed view of Stockholm.

It has two spherical gondolas, each able to accommodate up to 12 passengers, which travel along parallel tracks on the exterior of the south side of the globe.^[18]

• Architecture of Stockholm
• Hovet
• Tele2 Arena
• Sphere
• List of indoor arenas in Nordic countries
• List of European ice hockey arenas

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avicii Arena.

• Stockholm Globe Arenas, website. (English).
• Stockholm Globe City Archived 7 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
• Hockeyarenas.net entry
• Web cams monitoring the construction on the Globe Arena Archived 1 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine