Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city, has less than 500,000 inhabitants. Despite its relatively small size the city has hosted numerous large-scale sports events: the European Athletics Championships in 2006, the Uefa Cup Final (soccer) in 2004, the World Athletics Championships in 1995 and the 1992 European Football Championships (soccer).

And March 18–23, 2008, the World Figure Skating Championships takes center stage. The event takes place at the Scandinavium arena, Sweden’s second largest indoor arena, and is expected to attract some 400 million TV viewers from all around the world. “This event is incredibly important for Sweden,” says Tussan Rix, head of the organizing team. “It’s good publicity for the country as a whole and also puts Gothenburg on the map.”

The city as arena

In the bidding to host major championships Gothenburg has taken on metropolises such as Paris, Tokyo, London and New York. To win, the city has learned to turn its small size to its advantage. Claes Bjerkne, CEO of the city’s tourism and event company Göteborg & Co, has his own theory about why the city has been so successful in its bids.

“One great advantage is that we have a boulevard, Avenyn, in the center of town, which is just a 10–15-minute walk from our arenas and perfect for different events,” he says. “Also, since our rivals have huge financial resources and we don’t, we have to work harder to find solutions.”

Hotel Gothia Towers is just next door to the Scandinavium arena, which is very practical for the World Figure Skating Championships' participants and visitors. Photo: Gothia Towers, Johan Erikson / www.imagebank.sweden.se and Scandinavium, Jorma Valkonen

When the European Athletics Championships were opened in 2006, the inauguration ceremony itself was moved to Avenyn, so that the people of Gothenburg could see it for free. Offering the locals events that are both attractive and affordable, for example by using the city as arena, is one of the key aims of Göteborg & Co.

“We always try to supply events that appeal to people here and enhance their quality of life,” says Bjerkne. “That’s the most important thing for us.”

Long-established cooperation

The mission of Göteborg & Co is to promote cooperation between the City of Gothenburg and local enterprise, in order to improve the lives of the local population and, ultimately, attract more tourists to the area. The organization is owned jointly by the municipality and leading actors in the city’s business sector.

“In Gothenburg, the city and private enterprise have always worked together to build up the community — that dates back to the time of the ship Götheborg*,” says Bjerkne.

And there are figures to prove the success of Göteborg & Co; since the organization was launched in the early 1990s, the number of hotel nights spent in the city has doubled, and tourism is creating an estimated 16,000 full-time jobs. The European Athletics Championships alone generated a surplus of SEK 500,000 (USD 82,000), and tourists spent SEK 800 million in the city.

Experience in staging major events

The first real test for Göteborg & Co was the World Athletics Championships in 1995, one of the most ambitious sports events ever held in Sweden.

“In the mid-1990s Sweden was going through something of an economic crisis, and people were a bit down,” says Bjerkne. “But then we gave a very professional account of ourselves in Gothenburg, and you could almost see how people stood up a little straighter and had renewed faith in their abilities.”

The World Figure Skating Championships are expected to attract some 100,000 spectators, and 600 journalists will be in town to cover the event. Tickets for many of the finals were sold out long before the championships were due to begin. If the event keeps to its SEK 45 million budget, a profit of SEK 5 million is expected.

Tussan Rix, head of the World Figure Skating Championships' organizing team, appreciates the work that Göteborg & Co does. Photo: J. Barry Mittan

“Gothenburg has realized how important it is to host events such as this,” Rix says. “The city is far ahead of other Swedish cities in organizing major championships. As organizers, you can count on a tremendous amount of backing, and cooperation is easy both with Göteborg & Co and with the city authorities.”

The future

A future event that is already being planned in Gothenburg is the European Indoor Athletics Championships in 2013. “We based the application for this event on the concept of ‘all under one roof,’” Bjerkne says. “The athletes will stay in the Hotel Gothia Towers, compete in the Scandinavium arena and warm up at the Swedish Exhibition Centre (Svenska Mässan). Everything’s within walking distance — virtually under the same roof.”

Where major sports events are concerned, competition among would-be hosts is extremely fierce, so it is unwise to sit back and think you possess an invincible formula for winning.

“In the sporting world, you can win gold, silver or bronze. But when it comes to competing for the right to organize championships, only gold counts,” Bjerkne says.

*The Swedish ship Götheborg sank in the port of Gothenburg in 1745 following a 30-month voyage to China and back. In 2005 a scale model of the ship made the same trip — but this time the outcome was more successful.
Read more on www.soic.se
Source: SOIC (Svenska Ostindiska Companiet AB)

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The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.

Translation: Stephen Croall

Classification: A239EN

Marcus Nyberg

Marcus Nyberg is a freelance writer whose foremost achievement as an organizer of sporting events was a floorball tournament that attracted 14 teams — but no tourists.