Vikingskipet ("The Viking Ship"), officially known as Hamar Olympic Hall ( no, Hamar olympiahall), is an indoor multi-use sport and event venue in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It was built as the

speed skating rink A speed skating rink (or speed skating oval) is an ice rink in which a speed skating competition is held. The rink A standard long track speed skating track is, according to the regulations of the International Skating Union (ISU), a double-laned ...

for the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

, and has since also hosted events and tournaments in

ice speedway Ice speedway is a developed form of motorcycle speedway racing, featuring racing on frozen surfaces. The sport uses bikes enhanced for the terrain. Participants can compete at international level. Outline The bikes race counterclockwise aro ...

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

ice sledge speed racing Ice sledge racing is a Paralympic sport where contestants use a lightweight sledge and propel themselves using two poles. As a modern organized sport, it was available as a Paralympic sport between 1980–1988 and 1994–1998. It is contested ...

flying disc A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item that is generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitive ...

and

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

. The arena is also used for

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...

and the annual computer party The Gathering. It is the home arena of

Hamar IL Hamar Idrettslag is a Norwegian sports club from Hamar. It has sections for bandy, curling, association football, athletics, sport shooting, rowing, speed skating, diving, swimming, tennis, figure skating and gymnastics. It was founded in 1921 ...

bandy team. The venue is owned by

Hamar Municipality Hamar Municipality ( no, Hamar kommune; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Hedemarken. The administrative centre of the ...

, and along with

Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre CC Amfi, also known as Nordlyshallen ("The Northern Light Hall"), is an indoor sports arena in Hamar, Norway. It is mostly used for ice hockey and is the home arena of Storhamar Hockey. It has also been used for short track speed skating, figure ...

is run by the municipal Hamar Olympiske Anlegg. Vikingskipet has a capacity for 10,600 spectators during sporting events and 20,000 during concerts. The arena was designed by Niels Torp, and Biong & Biong, and opened on 19 December 1992. The complex cost 230 million

Norwegian krone The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ''� ...

(NOK). The localization was controversial, as it is located at Åkervika, a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

ISU Speed Skating World Cup The ISU Speed Skating World Cup is a series of international speed skating competitions, organised annually by the International Skating Union since the winter of 1985–86. Every year during the winter season, a number of competitions on different ...

races, as well as regular world championships. It has among other things hosted tournaments of the

World Allround Speed Skating Championships The World Allround Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of the world. The event is held over two days, with all skaters entering the first three distances (500 m, ...

European Speed Skating Championships The European Speed Skating Championships are a series of long track speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of Europe. History The International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the ...

World Single Distance Championships The World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating competitions organised by the International Skating Union. History Since the late 19th century, speed skating championships were always decided by racing multiple ...

World Sprint Speed Skating Championships The World Sprint Speed Skating Championships are annual speed skating championships. The championships are held over a two-day period, with the skaters racing one 500 m and one 1,000 m each day. Since the higher speeds towards the end ...

UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...

and

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

Construction

During the process of the

Lillehammer bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics The Lillehammer bid for the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics was an unsuccessful campaign launched in 1984. It bid ended fourth of seven at the 91st IOC Session on 17 September 1986, who awarded the 1992 Winter Olympics to Albertville, Fran ...

, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

had not specified that it was necessary with an indoor speed skating rink.

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

had used the indoor

Olympic Oval The Olympic Oval in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is North America's first covered speed skating oval; it was built for the 1988 Winter Olympics and opened on September 27, 1987.1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games (french: XVes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( bla, Mohkínsstsisi 1988; sto, Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or ; cr, Otôskwanihk 1998/; srs, Guts� ...

, but

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, who were awarded the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

, had opted for the outdoor

L'anneau de vitesse L'Anneau de Vitesse ( en, The Speed Circuit) is an outdoor speed skating venue located in Grenoble, France. It hosted the speed skating events for the 1968 Winter Olympics. This Speed Circuit is located in a park of 27 hectares, the Park Paul Mist ...

. In its bid, the speed skating events were planned held at

Stampesletta Stampesletta is a multi-use stadium complex in Lillehammer, Norway. Owned and operated by Lillehammer Municipality, it consists of a track and field venue, an artificial turf football field, three natural grass football fields, a gravel field a ...

, an outdoor track and field stadium in Lillehammer. After Lillehammer had been awarded the 1994 Winter Olympics,ISU decided that the Olympics that could be only held on indoor venues. Hamar had previously been a venue for international speed skating events at Hamar stadion. The town was therefore selected to host the two skating venues. In December 1989, it was decided that the new venue would be built at Åkervika, a Ramsar site outside downtown Hamar. A compromise was reached whereby the stadium was moved from its original location, two birdwatching towers were built, and a lumber yard was moved.LOOC (III): 51

Nature and Youth Natur og Ungdom (NU) which translates Nature and Youth, also known in English as Young Friends of the Earth Norway, is a Norwegian youth environment protecting organisation. It is the only environmentalist youth organisation in Norway. 7,000 memb ...

remained opposed to the plans, stating the location "has destroyed part of one of the world's most important bird reserves". The construction was passed by the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

in April 1990. Architects were Niels Torp, and Biong and Biong.LOOC (III): 54 Ole K. Karlsen was selected to build the building, in competition with eleven other contractors. The ventilation contract worth NOK 18 million had originally been awarded to Hagen & Haugan on 29 May 1991. Two days later, the

Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee The Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee or LOOC was the company responsible for organizing the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. The company was founded on 15 November 1988, after Lillehammer's successful bid to host the games, an ...

signed a sponsorship agreement with Norsk Viftefabrikk and

Elektrisk Bureau Elektrisk Bureau or EB was a Norwegian manufacturer of telecommunication equipment. It was founded in 1882 and lasted until 1993 when it became part of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB). The company was located at Billingstad in Asker. History In 1882 ...

, both part of

Asea Brown Boveri ABB Ltd. is a Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to create ...

, which demanded discounts in their sponsorship payments for not receiving the contract. In September 1992, Investa, which owned Ole K. Karlsen, filed for bankruptcy, causing delays in construction. When it opened, Vikingskipet was the largest indoor sports venue in the world, and has twice the spectator capacity of the Olympic Oval. The ice rink was first tested on 15 December 1992, and officially opened on 19 December. The construction of the venue cost NOK 230 million, which was almost entirely financed through state grants. Hamar Municipality contributed by building a co-located fire station for NOK 21 million. Local businesses also contributed with NOK 8 million. Moelven Industrier and

Fireguard A fire screen or fireguard began as a form of furniture that acted as a shield between the occupants of a room and the fireplace, and its primary function was to reduce the discomfort of excessive heat from a log fire. Early firescreens were gene ...

both contributed in exchange for being able to use the venues for marketing large wooden structures. To finance the operating deficit after the Olympics, Hamar Municipality received a capital grant of NOK 30 million, with the interest going to pay for running Vikingskipet and Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre. Operating costs were estimated at NOK 7 million per year; the venue will receive income of NOK 1 million from larger events, NOK 1 million will come from free work from the fire department, and NOK 1 million from advertisements. Similar to Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre, the venue has two official names, Hamar Olympic Hall and Vikingskipet. The former cannot be used commercially by non-Olympic events, such as in merchandise.

Facilities

The venue has a floor area of and a volume of . The hall has a spectator capacity of 10,600 people, of which 2,000 can be seated. During the Olympics, this included 250 VIP seats, 250 press seats and 100 commentator seats. Access to the inner ring can be provided via an underpass. Lighting is provided at 1,400 lux, while the venue has a ventilation system capable of both heating and cooling, as well as de-moisturizing, and both re-use and circulation of air. The refrigeration unit uses an

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...

and saline solution, which is transported in pipes within the concrete, which allows for an ice temperature of between −5.5 and −6.5 degrees Celsius (22 and 20 °F). The heat from the refrigerating unit can be reused. The rink itself is long, with a turning radius of . Within the speed skating rink lies a bandy field. The venue was designed to also allow for association football, cycling,

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

, motorsports and

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

. The inside of the track can also be used for association football, with pitch dimensions up to . It can also function as an indoor

driving range A driving range is a facility or area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range att ...

for

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. The name derives from the roof looking like the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

of a

Viking ship Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure, used in Scandinavia from the Viking Age throughout the Middle Ages. The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as bein ...

. The building is visible from the E6 motorway and the

Dovre Line The Dovre Line ( no, Dovrebanen) is a Norwegian railway line with three slightly different lines which all lead to the historic city of Trondheim. Definition *Dovre Line is the current name of the 548 km main line of the Norwegian railway s ...

passing through Hamar, and was planned to be Hamar's main

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

Transport

During the Olympics, transport was in part provided by Vikingskipet Station on the

Røros Line The Røros Line ( no, Rørosbanen) is a railway line which runs through the districts of Hedmarken, Østerdalen and Gauldalen in Innlandet and Trøndelag, Norway. The line branches off from the Dovre Line at Hamar Station and runs a more easterl ...

, which passes right next to the venue. The station is a cul-de-sac station which is

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

and allowed trains during the Olympics and the Track Cycling World Championships to reach the venue within a short walk from the train. The station was officially opened on 16 August 1993. The station has not been used since the Olympics. In 2006, the

Norwegian National Rail Administration The Norwegian National Rail Administration ( no, Jernbaneverket) was a government agency responsible for owning, maintaining, operating and developing the Norwegian railway network, including the track, stations, classification yards, traffic m ...

proposed re-opening the station in conjunction with larger events.

Events

Prior to the Olympic Games, the venue hosted three

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

s in 1993. In February, it hosted all but two preliminary matches of the 1993 Bandy World Championship. To make the games more attractive, preliminary round matches were reduced from 90 to 60 minutes. The final was spectated by 5,338 people. For four months, the venue was equipped with a

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate Track tran ...

, which allowed the venue to host the 1993 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. The velodrome cost NOK 95 million less than building a permanent velodrome in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, which would be hosting the 1993 UCI Road World Championships. The

Norwegian Cycling Federation The Norwegian Cycling Federation or NCF (In Norwegian: ''Norges Cykleforbund'') is the national governing body of cycle racing in Norway. The NCF is a member of the UCI and the UEC. External links Norwegian Cycling Federation official website ...

had originally bid for the championships to get a permanent velodrome built at Hasle in Oslo, but declined the offer and instead chose the temporary concept. Because the velodrome only has a circumference of , the venue's spectator capacity was reduced to 3,000 people. Hamar was the center for skating sports during the 1994 Winter Olympics. The other venue in town was Hamar Olympic Amphitheatre, which featured the

short track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the s ...

and

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

events. Vikingskipet held ten

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...

events, five for men and five for women. Norway's

Johann Olav Koss Johann Olav Koss, (born 29 October 1968) is a former speed skater from Norway. He won four Olympic gold medals, including three at the 1994 Winter Olympics in his home country. Biography Johann Olav Koss was born in Drammen, Buskerud County, N ...

took three golds, in the men's 1,500 meters, 5000 meters and

10000 meters The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance running, long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is com ...

. In the latter two, he finished ahead of fellow countryman Kjell Storelid. The men's 500 meters was won by Russia's Aleksandr Golubev ahead of fellow countryman Sergey Klevchenya, while the men's 1000 meters was won by American

Dan Jansen Daniel Erwin Jansen (born June 17, 1965) is a retired American speed skater. A multiple world champion in sprint and perennial favorite at the Winter Olympics, he broke a ten-year Olympic jinx when he won a gold medal in his final race, which ...

. Koss and Jansen won their olympic golds setting new world record time on their distances. For women, American

Bonnie Blair Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964) is a retired American speed skater. She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, winnin ...

defended her two 1992 golds in

500 meters The 500 metres is a rarely run middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. All-time top 25 *i = indoor performance *OT = oversized track (exceeding 200m in circumference) *A = affected by altitude *h = hand timing Men *C ...

and 1000 meters. Austria's Emese Hunyady won the 1500 meters ahead of Russia's Svetlana Bazhanova and Germany's

Gunda Niemann Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann (née Kleemann, born 7 September 1966) is a German former speed skater. She is a three-time Olympic gold medallist, winning the 3000 metres in 1992 and 1998 and the 5000 metres in 1992. She won a total of eight Olympic m ...

. However, Bazhanova took gold ahead of Nemeth-Hunyady on the

3000 meters The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

, with Germany's Claudia Pechstein in third. Pechstein would go on to win the 5000 meters ahead of Niemann. Vikingskipet was proposed to also host

, should it be included in the Olympic program. It had been a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration spor ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Olympics, but was eventually discarded from the Lillehammer program. The event would have used the same production equipment as for speed skating, and would have consisted of a four-team tournament for both men and women, and would have been held during the Games' two last days. Vikingskipet was the venue for ice sledge speed skating during the 1994 Winter Paralympics. Eight events were held, four for women and four for men. The event had 22 participants from 7 nations competing for 24 medals, resulting in 23 of 24 medals being awarded to Norwegian athletes.

Atle Haglund Atle Haglund (born 10 April 1964) is a Norwegian ice sledge hockey player and ice sledge speed racer. He lost both his legs in a traffic accident at the age of eight. During the 1984 Winter Paralympics, Haglund participated in four disciplines ...

set two world records. The venue is the national stadium for speed skating in Norway. It hosts annual

, and has in addition hosted many European and world championships. This includes the

in 1993 (for men), 1999, 2004,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

tournaments. The

has been held in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and 2007, while the

was held in 1996. The

has been held four times, in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Since 1996, Vikingskipet has hosted The Gathering, a computer party which is held every Easter. Concerts held at Vikingskipet include

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

(2005),

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

(2007),

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

(2007), and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

(2008). The

Norway women's national football team The Norway women's national football team is controlled by the Football Association of Norway. The team is former European, World and Olympic champions and thus one of the most successful national teams. The team has had less success since the ...

played

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

on 21 January 1996, winning 4–0. Vikingskipet hosted a round of the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and 2004. It was also the service depot and race headquarters for

Rally Norway Rally Norway is the Norwegian rally which has been part of the WRC calendar in 2007 and 2009. This rally and Rally Sweden are the only two rallies part of the WRC calendar which are mainly held on snow, with the Monte Carlo Rally also featuring ...

, which was arranged in 2006, 2007 and

. The latter two were part of the

. In March 2011, the

Norwegian Skating Association The Norwegian Skating Association ( no, Norges Skøyteforbund, NSF) is the main skating authoritative body in Norway. It oversees speed skating, figure skating, short track speed skating on ice, and more recently inline and roller skating. The Nor ...

announced that they indented that the Norwegian World Cup events would be moved to Sørmarka Arena in

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

, due to low attendance at Vikingskipet. Vikingskipet has been selected to host the 2013 World Allround Speed Skating Championships. Lillehammer is scheduled to host the

2016 Winter Youth Olympics The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics ( no, Olympiske vinterleker for ungdom 2016; nn, Olympiske vinterleikane for ungdom 2016), officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, between 12 February an ...

, with Vikingskipet to host long track speed skating events.

Rink records

Vikingskipet is one of few indoor speed skating venues in the world, which has allowed for many world records. The following is a list of the rink records, including the distance, gender, the record time, the athlete who set the record, the country they represent, and the date the record was set.

World records

Vikingskipet has been the venues for

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

s in speed skating, track cycling, ice sledge speed racing and frisbee. The following is a list of world records set in Vikingskipet, including the sport, event, gender, time or distance, the athlete, their country and the date the record was set. During the 1994 Winter Olympics, four of the five distances for men's speed skating received new world records.

References

External links

* {{Sport in Hamar Venues of the 1994 Winter Olympics Venues of the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics Sports venues in Hamar Indoor arenas in Norway Music venues in Norway Speed skating venues in Norway Olympic speed skating venues Indoor speed skating venues Bandy venues in Norway Speedway venues in Norway Velodromes in Norway 1992 establishments in Norway Sports venues completed in 1992 Bandy World Championships stadiums