Fan experience in Holmenkollen

At 10.10 h we left home fheading or the metro station to take the Metro to Holmenkollen for the 30 km men pursuit, starting at 12.00 h. As we heard from friends, read in the newspaper and heard in the news that there were serious transport problems the day before, we decided to leave early enough.
We had approx. 15 min. waiting time until we were able to get on the metro and 20 min. later we were with hundreds and hundreds of other spectators on the way to the cross country venue....long queues moving slowly, but moving! Everybody enjoyed the sunny day, was in a good and relaxed mood. Friendly spectator service volunteers indicated the way and after some under passing and over passing of bridges, some narrow and muddy walkways we made it to our spectator area zone U.
The atmosphere in the stadium was amazing and the pursuit was like an exciting crime story, for more than 1 hour it was absolutely not clear who would make it first through the finish line, although more than 40.000 spectators hoped for the Norwegian super star: Petter Northug. As the speaker mentioned 4,5 km before the finish: if Northug doesn`t want to be responsible that the whole Norway gets a heart attack, he better does something NOW!...Yes, and he did!
Although some started moving to get downdtown, the speaker announced that never had it been so many during the flower ceremony – and we moved to better positions and celebrated the champions! Then it was to just follow the movement of the crowds, composed by families, young couples and cross country fan club members.
Moving back to the metro was much easier and took less time. After 4 hours in the cold we made a stop to explore the inside of the different tents – the catering tent to have some hot drinks and the merchandising tent to check if our credit cards were still valid!
Back in the centre of Oslo we went to Casa Italia where Val di Fiemme presents the next world championship Nordic 2013 – and when the Italians present their country there is a good excuse to test their food and beverage! With this recharge of energy we were ready for the Medals Ceremony at 19:00 h. During our break we met also a former colleague from Lillehammer and Torino. Nice and refreshing catch up after quite a while!
Hearing a crowed of approx. 35.000 people shouting: Petter Petter Petter Petter...is impressing, and when the national hymn is played and everyone sings – it is emotional and we can tell you: shivers run up your neck!
Back home and time for a short reflection from Ingrid’s part
“This was one of my best “fan experiences” ever! Why?
- Being guest at one of the most passionate nations in Nordic sport disciplines feels like a honour;
- Experience a smooth running winter sport outdoor event, with minor needs of adjustments (transport, signage, catering area and access/exit of spectators incl. flows), is impressive;
- Seeing many friendly smiles and sparkling eyes in the volunteers faces, makes you feel home and welcome;
Thank you Holmenkollen, thank you Oslo 2011!
And from my part – pride and joy are the best words to describe the experience. I look forward to the rest and to experience the event from the "inside" as a volunteer!

One main goal.....

After some days in Warsaw I’m heading back to Oslo today – and you certainly know the answer for why I’ve been here when I give you these numbers:
487 days to go
8 cities
2 countries
1 tournament
You are right – I’ve been here for a workshop with the executive management team of the UEFA Euro 2012 and have had the opportunity to observe a workshop with all project managers with knowledge information and sharing as the main objectives.
And I’m again reflecting on how lucky we are to have this possibility to meet and work with teams that have this enthusiasm, energy and willingness to share – with one mutual goal. UEFA Euro 2012 is a “melting pot” of people with different cultures, experiences and knowledge, but they have one mutual goal:
To create history together!

This brings me back to the Lillehammer Olympics and the questions we got on which success criteria was the most important when planning the Games. Maybe it is difficult to pick just one as everything is interrelated; Clear roles, responsibilities, information and communication lines and decision making procedures have all to be in place, but the one main success criteria that I think was key - Across positions, functions and levels in the organization we all had the same main goal – to deliver the best games ever. Still something to work on for many companies?