Ericsson Globe

Ericsson Globe, originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena and commonly referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (pronounced [ˈɡlǔːbɛn] (listen); "the Globe"), is an indoor arena located in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockholm, Sweden.

"Globe Arena" redirects here. For the football ground, see Globe Arena (football stadium).
Ericsson Globe
Globen
Globe celebrates 30 years, February 2019
Former namesStockholm Globe Arena (1989–2009)
Location121 77 Johanneshov, Stockholm, Sweden
Coordinates59°17′36.80″N 18°04′59.65″E
Public transit Globen
OwnerCity of Stockholm via SGA Fastigheter
OperatorAEG Live
Capacity13,850 (ice hockey)
16,000 (concerts)
Record attendance17,303 (Metallica, 5 May 2018)[1]
Construction
Broke ground10 September 1986 (1986-09-10)
Built1986–1989
Opened19 February 1989 (1989-02-19)
ArchitectSvante Berg, Lars Vretblad
Tenants
Sweden men's national ice hockey team
AIK Hockey
Djurgårdens IF Hockey
Website
globearenas.se

The Ericsson Globe is the largest hemispherical building on Earth[2] and took two and a half years to build. Shaped like a large white ball, it has a diameter of 110 meters (361 feet) and an inner height of 85 meters (279 feet). The volume of the building is 605,000 cubic meters (21,188,800 cubic feet). It has a seating capacity of 16,000 spectators for shows and concerts, and 13,850 for ice hockey.

It represents the Sun in the Sweden Solar System, the world's largest scale model of the Solar System.[3]

History

Globen was inaugurated on 19 February 1989 after a construction period of less than three years. The first major event was the Melodifestivalen 1989.

On February 2, 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.[4]

Aerial view of Tele2 Arena and Ericsson Globe, April 2018.

Tenants

The Globe is primarily used for ice hockey, and is the former home arena of AIK, Djurgårdens IF, and Hammarby IF. It opened in 1989 and seats 13,850 for ice hockey games, but is also used for musical performances as well as other sports than ice hockey, for example futsal (indoor football). It is owned by FCA fastigheter. 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 The Globen to this day) 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 has been the home of the finals of Sveriges Television's yearly music competition Melodifestivalen until 2012. Ericsson Globe has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 and Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

It will host several matches of the 2023 World Men's Handball Championship with Sweden co-hosting alongside Poland.

Artwork
A small cottage bolted to the top of the Globe.

A small cottage in aluminum with a 12-square-metre (130 sq ft) base was placed upon the Globe on May 26, 2009. The artist's intention with the arrangement is to illustrate two important symbols for Sweden: the high-technology Globe building and the traditional, simple small countryside cottage in Falu red with house corners painted in white. The house was positioned some distance from the exact top position of the Globe. The artist hopes he will eventually manage to place a similar cottage on the Moon. The cottage remained on the Globe until October 2009.[5][6]

Skyview
Assembly of the 'Skyview' elevator using helicopter 6 November 2009

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 16 passengers, which travel along parallel tracks on the exterior of the south side of the globe.

Skyview opened in February 2010 and carried 160,000 people during its first year of operation.

See also

References
  1. "Metallica återtog publikrekordet i Globen" (in Swedish). svt.
  2. "Ericsson Globe | AEG Worldwide". www.aegworldwide.com. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  3. "Sweden Solar System: English summary". Sweden Solar System. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  4. "Press release for Ericsson naming rights" (PDF). globearenas.se. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  5. "Röd stuga på Globens topp" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 2009-05-26. Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
  6. Video sequence showing the lifting of the cottage, SVT-play May 26, 2009. Archived August 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (The sequence starts automatically within a few seconds.)
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