Men’s EHF EURO 2020 in Trondheim Spektrum

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The Men’s EHF EURO 2020 Handball Championships were held in January this year, for the first time co-hosted in three countries – Austria, Norway and Sweden. EVENTIM was the official ticketing partner for both Austria and Norway, while Sweden used other ticketing providers due to previous ticketing agreements with the venues in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö.

The Norwegian Handball Federation (NHF) was responsible for the games in Norway – Groups C & D of the Preliminary Round, to be held in Trondheim. When choosing a ticketing provider, the NHF was looking for more than a ticketing system. They were looking for a ticketing partner who would work actively together with them to ensure a successful tournament. Leveraging EVENTIM HQ’s expertise in delivering ticketing programs to international sporting majors, EVENTIM Norway was awarded the ticketing contract in the spring of 2018. It has been a privilege to work on an international championship of this caliber with such a professional organizer.

Men’s EHF EURO 2020 in Trondheim Spektrum – Picture: Christian Grandgaard Lund

Partnership

Together with colleagues from Denmark and the International Sports Partnership’s team from Germany, we have worked side by side with the NHF for over a year and a half, sharing our knowledge and expertise. Everything from pricing, categories, and packages, to branding, marketing, and overall ticketing strategy have been discussed over our collaboration. The opportunity to work closely with the NHF on so many different aspects of ticketing has been very rewarding.

«The NHF are very pleased with the job EVENTIM has done. The customer follow-up we receive is impeccable, no task is too big or too small, and they are available 24/7 to discuss strategy, ticket sales and progress. It’s like we have an extra player on the field,” says Kia Otnes, project manager for the EHF EURO 2020.

The NHF had ambitious ticketing goals for both attendance and revenue. The tournament has been a huge success, well surpassing their expectations. As the tournament progressed, the interest in tickets skyrocketed. On the final day, extra seats were added in the venue to allow for even more spectators. 9.069 at the final game!

Picture: Christian Grandgaard Lund

Read more about the EHF EURO 2020 here

Trondheim Spektrum

For the venue Trondheim Spektrum, this was the first major international championship to be held in the arena. A brand-new hall in the heart of Trondheim, it hosts a wide variety of events every year including the world’s greatest artists, major trade fairs, corporate events, as well as amateur and professional sporting events.

“The Men’s EHF EURO 2020 went just as well as we hoped it would. The audience, the teams, the media and EHF were all very pleased. We have received extremely good feedback from everyone involved and fantastic media coverage throughout the championship. In addition, the Norwegian national team were fantastic and made the experience complete. We couldn’t have asked for anything more,” says Erik Hoftun, Sales and Event Manager at Trondheim Spektrum.

EVENTIM was, of course, on-site during the entire championship, helping with last-minute changes to ticket categories, allocations, ticket sales, help desk, access control and more. Erik Hoftun comments further:

“We experience EVENTIM as proactive, solution-oriented and engaged. Despite over 9,000 spectators in the arena at the same time, we had almost no queues during the championship and EVENTIM should have a great deal of credit for that.”

Access Control

Pelle Bundgaard, Access Control Manager at Eventim Scandinavia, was responsible for on-site support at Trondheim Spektrum.

«It was a pleasure working together with both the NHF and Trondheim Spektrum. The arena has everything you could ask for and the volunteers did a great job of welcoming the guests, as well as scanning their tickets.

Through our highly customisable access control solution, we were able to ensure that all guests gained access to the right areas and that guests who had been re-seated in the last minute, were informed immediately upon entry and guided to their new seats.»

Trondheim Spektrum ready for EHF EURO 2020. Picture: Christian Grandgaard Lund

Of course, the fact that the Norwegian national team played an exceptional tournament in Trondheim certainly helped the atmosphere in the venue. Facing stiff competition in the preliminary rounds, Norway won all three games and shockingly sent France home after the second game. To sit in the venue, hear the crowd clapping, cheering and stomping in a sold-out arena was truly electrifying – something we won’t soon forget.

After such a close collaboration, it would feel strange to no longer work with the NHF on such an exciting project. Thankfully, that is not the case! The Men’s championship was only one part of our delivery. In December, the Women’s EHF EURO 2020 will also be held in Norway. This time our partnership is even bigger, including two Preliminary Rounds groups in Trondheim Spektrum, one Main Round group in Stavanger Idrettshall and the Final Weekend at Telenor Arena in Oslo. Ticket sales are already underway and our partnership with the NHF continues.

 

Written by:
Marcia Titley
Managing Director at Eventim Norway