Avicii Arena

Avicii Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov district of Stockholm, Sweden near the Globen metro station. The arena was previously named Stockholm Globe Arena and Ericsson Globe and is referred to in Swedish simply as Globen (Swedish:[ˈɡlǔːbɛn]ⓘ; lit.'the Globe'), as it is shaped like a globe and represents the Sun in the Sweden Solar System, the world's largest scale model of the Solar System.

Avicii Arena is the second largest spherical building on Earth (overtaken by the Las Vegas Sphere in 2023) and took two and a half years to build. It has a diameter of 110 metres (360ft) and an inner height of 65 metres (213ft). The volume of the building is 605,000 cubic metres (21,400,000cuft) 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 building was designed by Berg Arkitektkontor AB and the globe structure was constructed by Mero-Schmidlin.

History

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

In 2009, the naming rights to the Stockholm Globe Arena were acquired by Ericsson, and it became known as the Ericsson Globe.

In 2021, the arena was renamed Avicii Arena after 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.

In 2024, a $92 million modernization, overseen by NCC and led by HOK with C.F. Møller Architects and schlaich bergermann was implemented. Upgrades included a retractable acoustic ceiling with reflective panels, new premium hospitality spaces and the introduction of gondola seating. The arena reopened in February 2025.

Events

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 concerts and sports such as 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.

It also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000 and 2016.

In March 2021, it hosted the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, it hosted the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament PGL Major Stockholm 2021, which was named in the Guinness World Records for the most-watched Counter-Strike tournament.

Since the 2000 NHL Challenge, 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.

In 2027, the arena will host the group phase matches for the EuroBasket Women 2027.

Concerts

Artwork

A small cottage in aluminum with a 12-square-metre (130sqft) 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. The cottage remained on the Globe until October 2009.

Skyview

Opened in February 2010, 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.

See also

• Architecture of Stockholm
• Hovet
• 3Arena
• Sphere
• List of indoor arenas in Nordic countries
• List of European ice hockey arenas

External links

• (English).
• 7 May 2008 at theWayback Machine
• 1 March 2012 at theWayback Machine