The Stockholm Globe Arena or, in Swedish, Globen ("The Globe") is the national indoor arena in Stockholm Globe City, Sweden.

The building

It is currently the largest hemispherical building in the world and took two and a half years to build. Shaped like a large golf 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 600,000 cubic meters (21,188,800 cubic feet). It has seating capacity for 16,000 spectators for shows and concerts, and 14,119 for Ice Hockey.

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

Description

Globen is primarily used for ice hockey, and is the former home arena of Djurgårdens IF and AIK. It opened in 1989 and seats (since 2005) 14,119 for ice hockey games, but is also used for musical performances as well as other sports than ice hockey, for example 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 (some 20 home games in The Globen to this day) and AC Camelen (one game in 1998, in the sixth (!) level league, with 92 spectators).

Notable events

In 2003, the Globen hosted some games of the European Basketball Championship. It has hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships twice, in 1989 (for which it was built) and 1995, as well as some World Cup of Hockey games in 1996 and 2004. It has also been the venue for the NHL Challenge series, when teams from the NHL came to Sweden to play against Swedish teams: the Vancouver Canucks in 2000, the Colorado Avalanche in 2001 and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2003. The arena has also hosted a couple of Monster Jam events, and the World Floorball Championships in 1996 and 2006. In 1989 it also hosted the European Men's Volleyball Championship. The first two games of the 2008–09 season of the NHL, between the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins will be played in The Globen, although the rink was altered to NHL specifications.

In 1989, and every year since 2002, Globen Arena hosted the final of Melodifestivalen.

Most recently, the stadium was used for the finals of the 2006 Men's World Floorball Championships and the Swedish Idol Grand Final.

The Eurovision Song Contest and MTV Europe Music Awards, were held there in 2000.

Notable appearances

Pope John Paul II held a mass in the arena in 1989 as the first pope to hold a mass in Sweden. Other notable appearances at the arena have included Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. As for concerts, acts such as Kiss, Kylie Minogue, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Roxette, Guns N' Roses, Bruce Springsteen, Luciano Pavarotti, Simon and Garfunkel, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iron Maiden, Rammstein, Aerosmith, Beyonce, The Who and many more.

Images

See also

• Stockholm Globe City

References

External links

• Stockholm Globe Arenas – website
• Stockholm Globe City
• Hockeyarenas.net entry