2 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund...
As usual, André Pops is anchorman for Vinterstudion. Picture: SVT
Biathlon in Östersund also means it’s the premiere for SVT’s hit Vinterstudion. It’s premiere weekend is 5-6 December when Pops & Co will be broadcasting live from the biathlon stadium in Östersund and the Biathlon World Cup. His famous guests in the studio will naturally include Magdalena Forsberg.
SVT’s broadcasts from the biathlon races start on Wednesday 2 December at 17.00, with the women’s individual. The commentators are the classic duo of Christer Ulfbåge and Kalle Grenemark.
You can watch the action on SVT1 & SVT 2 and SVT Play.
240 million will be able to watch the World Cup Premiere.
2 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund...
240 million people in 59 countries have the chance to watch Östersund’s World Cup Premiere in biathlon, live on Eurosport.
Eurosport broadcasts in 20 languages and reaches 117 million households. Eurosport 2 broadcasts to 36 million households in 14 languages to 46 countries. Eurosport Asia-Pacific was launched in 2006 and already reaches 12 countries in the region. Eurosport’s websites, with their nine language versions, are Europe’s leading sports network with 9.9 million unique visitors per month.
Major launch for biathlon officials ahead of next week’s big premiere.
6 days until the World Cup Premiere in Biathlon...
As usual, the launch of the biathlon celebrations has taken place and it’s no secret that around 500 very enthusiastic officials will be doing their best to lift the World Cup Premiere to new heights.
Chair of the Organising Committee, Gun Fahlander, was in a wonderful mood and began by saying how happy she was to finally meet all the fantastic biathlon supporters again. With her was the captain of the Swedish team, Staffan Eklund, who reported on the status of the Swedish team.
“The mood in the team is good and there are high expectations for this season. We feel strong and, ahead of this season, our women’s team is ranked as number two in the world and our men’s as fourth. It’s not so surprising – we’re good!” states Eklund, who says that he thinks it is fun to start the season in Östersund again.
The evening continued with news about the upgrades to the stadium and improvements on last year, as well as a presentation and review of this year’s policies and practical issues.
More than 500 officials are ready to go. There are six days left.
Staffan Eklund talked about the Swedish team.
Gun Fahlander welcomed everyone to this year’s World Cup.
Lisa Engman talked about new issues for the officials...
and everyone listened...
and listened...
and focused...
on what she said. Lisa, that is.
Review of this year’s plan and a display of our 90 fantastic partners.
Photos by: Christian Manzoni
Rain and temperatures above freezing are having no effect on the trails at Östersund ski stadium. Chief of competition, Sten Wadensjö, is the image of calm ahead of the World Cup Premiere in just over a week.
9 days until the World Cup Premiere...
Chief of competition, Sten Wadensjö, sleeps well at night, despite the varied weather over the last few weeks, that has brought rain and temperatures above freezing.
“There’s no risk of substandard trails. We still have 3500 cubic metres of snow in storage that will be used to groom the final stretches. That’s all that’s needed now to keep the trails in good condition without natural snow, we know this from previous years,” says Sten Wadensjö, who thinks that the biggest problem with the lack of recent snow is purely visual.
“It’s much more attractive if the ground and the stadium are snow-covered, it contributes to the atmosphere for both the participants and the spectators. But there’s no risk that the trails will suffer.”
The current long-term forecast is that it will be cold this weekend and during the competition week, but there won’t be great amounts of precipitation. But the forecast can change, and hopefully a layer of snow will cover Östersund when it’s time for the races to start!
But whether there’s natural snow or not, there is no risk that the competition trails will be ruined by the mild weather, according to Sten Wadensjö.
“Rain does not have much effect on groomed snow, in principle the water runs off the snow and down into the ground alongside it. Because the trails are groomed every day they stay in good condition,” he says.
On Tuesday 1 December, Ybuss will start operating a new route between Trondheim and Östersund – just in time for the World Cup Premiere in Östersund.
10 days until the World Cup Premiere...
“This route is part of our efforts to attract Norwegians to the region, and we are also starting an airport transfer from Trondheim airport to Åre. That we are able to launch this ahead of the World Cup races is just wonderful,” says Ybuss’ MD, Nicklas Lindersson.
A total of 153 men and 126 women will compete at biathlon’s World Cup Premiere in Östersund in just over a week. According to competition secretary Nina Jonsson, they are mostly the same nations as those that have competed in Östersund in previous years.
“How many nations compete varies, but I believe it’s usually somewhere around 32-38,” says Nina Jonsson.
Germany and Norway have the most athletes at the World Cup premiere, with sixteen and fifteen, respectively. Russia, Ukraine and Sweden have fourteen each. A total of 239 team officials will also be in Östersund to help and support their biathletes so they can achieve their best at the races.
This is the list of the nations that will be at the World Cup races in Östersund!
9 days until the Biathlon World Cup Premiere...
Yet another high-profile act has been booked for the Biathlon World Cup Premiere in Östersund. We have previously announced that Kevin Borg and Lili&Susie will be performing and adding to the entertainment at the arena. Now we are also able to present one of Sweden’s leading showbiz companies, Wallmans Nöjen and their successful show from Åre – Wallmans Dippan.
“Now it feels as if we have a real Super Saturday. Fantastic sprint races for men and women and, if we can’t call it Après Ski we can still offer fantastic "Between Ski" entertainment. Wallmans will be performing between the races... but perhaps you’d worked that out," explains Mattias Nordqvist, programme manager for the World Cup Premiere.
Wallmans was first out in Sweden with the successful concept of having waiting staff that also provide on-stage entertainment and was founded back in 1956 by Hasse Wallman. One fun fact is that over the years, Wallmans Nöjen has produced everything from concerts for The Beatles, Rolling Stones, musicals like Cats and Grease, to major events on Sweden’s most famous stages.
The group employs around 1200 people and has annual sales worth SEK 345 million. Its headquarters are in Stockholm.
What the spectators will see between the races on Saturday 5 December is a taster of this winter’s programme from Wallmans Dippan in Åre. The premiere in Åre takes place on 26 November if you just can’t wait until your trip to the races in Östersund. Read more about Wallmans Dippan at www.wallmans.se
In less than three weeks, Östersund stadium will be ready to welcome competitors and spectators from around the world. Construction has started!
20 days until the World Cup Premiere…
Stadium manager, Göran Schylander, is calm as he looks out over the stadium area with less than three weeks to go until the World Cup Premiere.
“Almost everyone working with the construction of the stadium has been with us for several years and knows how everything works, so there shouldn’t be any problems. We’re experienced now, and that’s a great reassurance,” says Göran Schylander and shows us around the area.
Toilets are now being built behind the stands, for women, men and for people in wheelchairs. It is important that the races are as accessible as possible for everyone who wishes to see them – one section of the stands is also reserved for people with disabilities.
Lorries drive backwards and forwards with artificial snow for the competition trails. A thin layer of natural snow covers the ground and the stadium, but naturally the organisers are hoping that more snow will fall soon.
“Even if the competition trails are good with artificial snow, they look so much better when their surroundings are also snow-covered,” says Göran Schylander.
Just now, tents for the officials, VIP room and spectators in the “Torget” are being built on the short side of the shooting range. Many things need to organised in association with the temporary buildings at the stadium during the World Cup races – water, district heating and drains are just a few of the pieces that must be put in place before the premiere.”
One new thing this year is a play area for younger children, something that the organisers hope will attract more families with young children.
The pop icons will be performing at the biathlon stadium on 3 December.
22 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund...
The year’s World Cup really has something for everyone. For those who want to recall what was most popular on the dance floor in the 1990s, it’s a good idea to buy a ticket to Thursday’s races, as that’s when pop duo Lili & Susie will be performing.
The Päivärinta sisters need no further introduction, as they released one dance hit after another , but we’ll mention a few anyway. ”Oh Mama” and ” Bara du och jag” from 1987, as well as “What’s the Colour of Love” from 1990 are the really big hits. Lili & Susie first took part in Melodifestivalen (a Swedish song contest) in 1989 with the song ”Okey Okey!” and were reunited for the Melodifestivalen in 2009, where their song "Show Me Heaven" went through to the next round.
”It’s wonderful that we were able to book Lili & Susie, but even if they hadn’t been able perform we have really given our entertainment programme a boost compared to last year. Lili & Susie have given Thursday another popular act,” says Mattias Nordqvist, who is responsible for the event programme.
We have previously announced that the opening artist, on Wednesday 2 December, is Kevin Borg. Lili & Susie will perform before the men’s individual race on Thursday 3 December.
This year sees a record early start for cross-country skiing enthusiasts in Östersund! The artificial show trails at Östersund ski stadium are now ready to ski on.
33 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund…
Östersund Municipality’s new snow guarantee means that 2.6 kilometres of trails have been groomed using artificial snow that has been stored under sawdust since February.
New this year is that from 1 November until 15 December there will be a fee for using the trails. This is so the municipality can afford to off early snow and the opportunity to ski from as early as 1 November.
According to Joakim Halvarsson, head of the municipality’s Leisure unit, and responsible for the artificial snow trails, the total cost of the trails is around SEK 765,000. This includes snowmaking, snow storage, transport and grooming.
Over the last week, around 400 truckloads of snow have been driven to the trails and then groomed with a piste machine.
“The trail is now on half a metre of snow, and we are grooming every night so that it can freeze during the night, so it will stand up to use even if the day is above freezing,” says Joakim Halvarsson, who is pleased after having tested the trails himself.
In order for as many people as possible to be able to benefit, the loop that has been chosen is quite “gentle”.
“The idea is that everyone ho wants to can go out and ski, children and adults and enthusiasts, as well as elite skiers,” says Joakim Halvarsson.
The artificial snow extends the normal ski season by several weeks, and the hope is that after the middle of December there will be enough natural snow to guarantee access to snow. From 15 December until the end of the season, all the municipal ski trails will be free of charge.
Wise thoughts around how the smallest can be the biggest and how to get sponsor money to grow, was the theme of the evening.
31 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund...
Last night, with the new, early snow that Östersund Municipality has laid out and with the biathlon stadium as a backdrop, there was a meeting for partners and sponsors for this year’s biathlon World Cup in Östersund.
Chair of the organising committee, Gun Fahlander, greeted everyone warmly and said how touched she was that the number of sponsors are now almost up in the same numbers as for the 2008 World Championships.
Marketing manager for the World Cup, Håkan Blidberg, added that the sales target has now been achieved due to this year’s sponsorship income, but that doesn’t mean he’s sleeping easy.
“No, or yes. What I mean is that we are still greatly dependent on our visitor income. Equal to the percentage that they give as income is the chance that we "break even" in our budget. But compared to the same date last year, we have sold more tickets for this year’s world cup than in 2008,” said Håkan Blidberg.
Inspiring speaker
The evening’s guest speakers were Henrik Jansson from Fieldwork and Marcus Hedelin from the marketing department at Elfsborgs. Henrik has a long experience of events and sponsorship, from major events such as Tennisveckan in Båstad, the Scandinavian Masters in golf and the Alpine World Championships in Åre, and talked about how entrepreneurs can reach their target groups through active sponsorship of events like the biathlon world cup.
Marcus Hedelin had travelled from Borås to talk about IF Elfsborg and how they challenged the star football clubs from the big cities and how they used small funds, but clever ways, to set a new club record. This in is local sponsorship, where IF Elfsborg managed to increase sales by over 20% this year, despite the financial crisis and economic downturn.
“There are no bad times, just bad salespeople,” said Marcus, with a twinkle in his eye but also some seriousness.
The guests were able to enjoy good food and the atmosphere was wonderful. In 33 days it will be the premiere for this winter’s highlight – the biathlon season starts in Östersund!
Watch a clip from the evening on Youtube and the Skidskyttekanelen.
A cold sport has become hot news through targeted investment. Innovation and creative marketing have taken the Swedish Biathlon Federation from bobble hats and woolly jumpers to Sweden’s fastest growing sport.
46 days until the World Cup Premiere in Biathlon...
The awards ceremony took place last Thursday night, in association with Tendensdagen at Berns in Stockholm – and there was no doubt that the winners were popular with the audience.
Previous World Cups in biathlon had attracted minimal crowds and there was little interest in watching the sport on site in Sweden. When work for the 2008 Biathlon World Championships began it was clear that this attitude had to change, and it was necessary to think in an entirely new way – which was confirmed by the jury’s statement:
Long term strategic work meant that the Swedish Biathlon Federation were able to make the 2008 World Championships in Östersund a unique event, one that had the entire region’s support and involvement. The event exceeded all expectations with its 110,000 visitors and increased sales by the region’s businesses by hundreds of millions. Innovative and creative marketing took the Swedish Biathlon Federation from bobble hats and woolly jumpers to a high trend factor and benchmarked the sport to give it a strong position at an entirely new level, setting new standards for the future. The Swedish Biathlon Federation is a shining example of creative, sound marketing at its best.
Happy winners of the “Årets Marknadsförare” prize, represented by Håkan Blidberg and Patrik Jemteborn.
Mobilising campaign
Image building marketing was carried out for a long period, aimed at important information carriers and opinion builders. For the three months before the event, the biathlon federation rounded off with a massive advertising campaign. At that point they had already mobilised the will to participate in a world championships. This meant the campaign’s message was simple, the answer to the question ”How do I visit the event?”.
“Our greatest challenge was creating an interest in the sport and the event,” comments Håkan Blidberg, marketing manager at the Swedish Biathlon Federation and continues, “It’s a bit of a surprise to win gold as early as October. (laughs) This prize is the more prestigious in Sweden for marketing, so of course we are humbled, proud and happy. I is also important to say that this prize will be shared with all those who took part in and contributed to us living up to all those high expectations. I am primarily thinking of all our wonderful officials, all the coaches and athletes, Östersund Municipality but also sponsors and partners. Biathlon should be felt, loved and experienced. All those who feel that they are part of this prize are all prize-winners today.
We know the results. Packed stands, a stadium full of life and a region that supported the event. On 2-6 December it is time for a new biathlon celebration in Östersund – the season premiere for the Biathlon World Cup.
FACTS “Årets Marknadsförare”:
The prize for Årets Marknadsförare is awarded each year by Sveriges Marknadsförbund (the Swedish Marketing Federation). The prize is awarded for increasing the motivation and significance of successful marketers, regardless of size or scope. It is important to highlight talent, companies and organisations that distinguish themselves in marketing.
Sveriges Marknadsförbund promotes ethical and effective marketing and has almost 1000 members: companies and around 30 local marketing associations. There are more than 10,000 marketers in the network of companies & association. The marketing federation is the referral organisation for legislative issues relating to marketing, participates in the coordination of market economy education in Sweden and the EU, and monitors trends, strategies and research in the area of marketing.
Kevin Borg is this year’s inaugural act for the Biathlon World Cup!
43 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund...
One of Sweden’s hottest musical artists, Kevin Borg, will be at the Biathlon World Cup in Östersund. Naturally, he won’t be competing for Malta, his job will be to perform as the inaugural artist on Wednesday 2 December.
Kevin won TV4’s popular talent show, Idol 2008, and this autumn he’s bigger than ever, playing the lead role of Troy in High School Musical at Göta Lejon in Stockholm. The female lead, Gabriella, is played by Caroline Johansson Kuhmunen.
In 2008 Kevin took Sweden by storm with his voice and his charisma. After winning Idol 2008, Kevin has been at number one on the singles chart and number one on Svensktoppen. His wining song, “With Every Bit Of Me” went platinum and his debut album “The Beginning” has already gone gold.
He has toured Sweden, accompanied by his faithful and high volume fans. He has performed on “Allsång på Skansen” and opened the Swedish TV awards, Kristallen, on SVT. He also performed Malta’s and Sweden’s national anthems before the qualifier for the football World Cup at Ullevi in Göteborg.
When Kevin Borg made his musical debut in High School Musical he had to sing and act in Swedish, even though less than two years have passed since he left Malta for Arvidsjaur in northern Sweden. He followed his heart to Sweden, and now the Swedish people have taken him to theirs.
It will be thrilling to see him open this year’s biathlon season, with a "cold nose but a warm heart".
54 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund...
The third e.on Ruhrgas IBU World Cup of the 2009-2010 season cannot take place in
Osrblie, Slovakia as was originally planned. The Slovakian Federation relinquished the
right to host the event because the reconstruction of the stadium will not be
completed on time.
The IBU Executive Board will decide about an alternative location during this week,
the IBU will announce the new venue next week.
First tickets to Holland Biathlonevents.se has just got hold of the people who bought the very first tickets for the upcoming Biathlon World Cup Premiere.
54 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund...
This may be a surprise for many biathlon fans, but the very first tickets were sold to Jasper van der Weide and his wife, Dionne de Boer, from Holland. Biathlonevents.se had a chat with the happy couple.
Hello Jasper and congratulations on buying the first tickets!
- Hello to you too and thanks, it feels great!
Tell us about your interest in the World Cup Premiere in Östersund?
- We always watch the competitions on the television via Eurosport, and we enjoy the competitive aspects of the sport. You could be a good skier, but a less good shooter, or vice-versa, and that is the great thing about it. You never know what the next lap will bring! When we planned our honeymoon we decided to go and watch skiing or some biathlon races. We saw that the first skiing competition takes place in Canada, but that was too far away. We later heard from the federation that the first biathlon competition would take place in Sweden… and then we knew where our honeymoon would be!
Will this be the first time you are at biathlon races in Östersund or were you also here for the 2008 World Championships?
- No, it will be the first time we’ve ever seen biathlon in LIVE!
Oh wow, good for you. Are you planning to do something else while you’re here?
- Of course, we’re also going to visit Stockholm and we’re going to do some activities in Östersund.
Who is your favourite athlete and why?
- Our favourite is Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, because he can turn a race upside down with his fantastic skiing.
Most athletes are now preparing for the upcoming season by training hard. How are you preparing for the World Cup Premiere on 2 December?
- Er... well the usual stuff. We visit your website and Eurosport’s website.
The happy couple will get even happier when they get to Östersund!
Moves up into the top five in the latest rankings from the “Sport och affärer” supplement.
56 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund...
The Biathlon World championships and annual World Cups were major reasons for Östersund’s high ranking.
Photo: Kjell Bollnert
Yes, Östersund has taken a step up into the top five best sporting municipalities in Sweden. The only ones now in front are Göteborg, Stockholm, Malmö and Solna.
The list is published in the “Sport och affärer” supplement to Dagens industri. One other location in Jämtland is also on the list, and that’s Åre.
The motivation for Östersund’s ranking is:
"Continues with consistent development of the infrastructure for the ski stadium. A focus on biathlon and cross-country skiing. Recently invested in more stands capacity, waxing cabins and snow storage and, not least, a fully-automatic snow-making system that guarantees available snow. Also continuing its research partnership with Mid Sweden University and the Swedish Olympic Committee at the Winter Sports Centre. The long term and positive effects of the 2008 Biathlon World Championships for business and inhabitants are very clear; apply for more major events. Half of the visitors were from outside Jämtland and 20% of all visitors were coming to Östersund for the first time. Östersund is still a strong candidate for the Winter Olympics in partnership with Åre. In this context there is a weak hotel capacity."
The whole list:
1. Göteborg,
2. Stockholm,
3. Malmö,
4. Solna,
5. Östersund,
6. Uppsala,
7 Halmstad,
8. Båstad,
9. Mora,
10. Åre,
11. Karlstad,
12. Jönköping.
A hotel package with transport to the World Cup Premiere is the most recent addition to our range of accommodation.
56 days until the World Cup Premiere in Östersund...
If you book you can stay in Åre.
Tickets for this year’s world cup premiere in Östersund are as popular as mulled wine at a wonderful wintery biathlon race. In other words – they’re selling well. The packages that include accommodation have also been a hit this year, and those offering accommodation outside Östersund are also in demand.
"That’s right. There is accommodation left in Östersund, but more and more people are asking for the combination of biathlon in Östersund with accommodation in Åre. Norwegians in particular see it as an attractive option – biathlon one day and then hurtling down a newly groomed piste the next," says Håkan Blidberg, marketing manager for the World Cup organisation.
All said and done, so we have started to work in partnership with some of the hotels in Åre. www.biathlonevents.se gives you the opportunity to find special offers, such as apartments, double rooms or family rooms in Åre – and you don’t need to take the car. There will be bus transport for biathlon fans, to and from the races at the stadium and their accommodation in the ski paradise 60 minutes west of the biathlon stadium.
"It is great that we can now offer what so many of our guest have been asking for. We’re also looking at other requests and it remains to be seen whether we’ll succeed with those too," concludes Håkan Blidberg.
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One of Sweden’s hottest musical artists, Kevin Borg, will be at the Biathlon World Cup in Östersund. Naturally, he won’t be competing for Malta, his job will be to perform as the inaugural artist on Wednesday 2 December.web).jpg)
