Norway’s largest venue for trade fairs, events and concerts achieved an all-time high level of turnover in 2023. The positive results give NOVA Spektrum Foundation the opportunity to further advance its plans to create the Nordic region’s most progressive meeting place for the business, cultural and organisational realms. NOVA Spektrum Foundation owns and operates two of Norway’s largest arenas for trade fairs, events and concerts:
- NOVA Spektrum has an overall area of 40,000 square metres and represents Norway’s largest meeting place for exhibitions and events primarily oriented towards business.
- Oslo Spektrum Arena represents Norway’s largest cultural and entertainment arena, located centrally in the heart of Oslo. The arena is Norway’s best-known concert venue and is also utilised in connection with larger events within the business and organisational domains.
Best-ever
After two tough years due to the corona pandemic, NOVA Spektrum Foundation achieved revenue of Nkr578 million (EUR 52.5 million) in 2023, which is the best-ever level of turnover.
The foundation’s final EBITDA for the year was an impressive Nkr103 million (EUR 8.9 million). This is an improvement of approximately Nkr12 million (EUR 1 million) compared with the previous year and the foundation’s second-highest result in its history. Total EBIT ended at Nkr55 million (EUR 4.8 million).
The two arenas owned and run by NOVA Spektrum Foundation held a combined total of 123 major arrangements with roughly 640,000 visitors in 2023.
Satisfied CEO
NOVA Spektrum Foundation’s CEO Gunn Helen Hagen is highly satisfied with the strong results for 2023, and believes these have a direct correlation with the significance and importance of the physical meeting place in our time.
- During the corona pandemic, it was predicted that the digital and hybrid meeting places would replace many of the physical gatherings. We now know that these predictions have proven unfounded, and that physical events, concerts, shows and exhibitions remain stronger than ever before.
- Physical meeting places are wholly superior in relation to the opportunity to achieve dialogue, trust and the creative processes on which we are wholly dependent to succeed both as individual employees and businesses. Consequently, the digital and hybrid meetings are no longer an obvious first choice, even though this meeting format became a regular routine during the corona pandemic. For our exhibitor clients, we observe that our meeting places represent an effective channel for sales and marketing, Hagen comments.
Big ambitions for the future
NOVA Spektrum Foundation has been working for several years with plans to develop Oslo Spektrum to make it the Nordics’ most progressive meeting place for the business, cultural and organisational realms by establishing a new congress and culture auditorium in connection with the existing arena. The plans were approved by Oslo City Council in 2023. Planning is now underway for construction start on the new extension in 2025.The positive results are important in our work to realise our ambitions to establish a new congress and culture auditorium with capacity for around 3000 people. The new auditorium will be located just 1 minute away from Norway’s biggest public transport hub and only 20 minutes away from Oslo Airport Gardermoen. Construction is scheduled to start in June 2025 with targeted completion of the new building in the second half of 2028. The new facilities will make Norway and Oslo an even more attractive destination for major conferences and congresses. We are enthusiastic about continuing the work of creating and facilitating national and international meeting places that contribute to trade, knowledge-sharing and inspiration, Hagen says.
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
