The ski party and sporting achievements in Holmenkollen were partly overshadowed by reports in the media about excessive partying, drunkenness and fights. Next year there will be the World Ski Championships in Granåsen in Trondheim, and the management has applied to be allowed to serve alcohol during the championship. Now several people believe that they must learn from what happened. – I fear the same scenes we saw in Holmenkollen this weekend, says project manager Marte Mandelid in Idrett uten alkohol (IUA). The general manager of the Holmenkollen ski festival, Stefan Marx, is disappointed with the party in an otherwise successful event. – There will be an evaluation after the high use of alcohol and other drugs at a public event, he says. Especially during the women’s 5 miles, the police and the Red Cross had a lot to do. Many spectators in Holmenkollen last weekend. Here, Lotta Udnes Weng skis under 50 km. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB / NTB Not worried about the WC WC manager Åge Skinstad was present during the chaos in Holmenkollen. He is not worried that drunkenness will take the focus away from sports during the WC in Trondheim. The plan is to serve alcohol in safe forms in restricted areas. Skinstad admits that they will not be able to keep up with everything that goes on in the field outside the ski stadium. – It is clear that on the outside of the stadium you do not have the same opportunity either for security or to examine what people are carrying. So then you may have to call for a little common sense, says the WC boss. Head of the ski WC, Åge Skinstad, is planning a folk festival in Trondheim. But he is not worried that drunkenness will take the focus away from sports. Photo: Ski WC Beer tent during Raw air Sports commentator in news, Jan Petter Saltvedt, states that there will be drinking during the Ski WC. – I think that you can do this in a decent way. Then we get to test it this week. On 12 and 13 March, there will be a foretaste of the WC atmosphere. Then the Norwegian show jumping Raw air is organized in Granåsen in Trondheim. They have been granted a liquor licence, and beer will be served in a tent two evenings in a row. – Then we will see if it is done in more controlled ways, says Saltvedt. Illustrative photo of how the World Ski Championships in Trondheim may look when the World Championships are held from 26 February to 9 March in 2025. Photo: TRONDHEIM 2025 Dejected and embarrassed Secretary General of the alcovet organization Occasionally, Ragnhild Kaski, asks the organizers of the World Ski Championships 2025 to learn a lesson of the scenes in Oslo, and take their precautions. – Clearly show what type of folk festival you want in Trondheim in 2025, and that alcohol and drunkenness do not fit into this. It is particularly important to communicate this to young people and their parents, she says. Ragnhild Kaski from the alkovett organization is sometimes skeptical that alcohol is served during sports events. Photo: From time to time At the same time, she calls the situation in Holmenkollen a predicted disaster – despite the fact that there were clear calls in advance to both the young people and parents. – There were probably many of us who read the online newspapers at the weekend who were both disappointed and also somewhat embarrassed. It is a shame that the coverage of a great sporting event is characterized by videos and images of drunkenness, littering and fights. She is skeptical that alcohol is served at sporting events. – I see that it is argued in Trondheim that a liquor license will mean that you reach out to more people and create a more inclusive event. Alcohol does not make an event more inclusive, quite the opposite. Want better security The project manager for Sports without alcohol was in Holmenkollen last weekend. She is surprised at how much drunkenness and noise there was among some. She believes that security should be improved during the World Ski Championships. – We don’t want there to be any alcohol allocation there. If they go for alcohol, there must be more security and police present. Both before, during and after the WC. One simply has to ensure that it is better organised, believes Mandelid. Marte Mandelid is project manager in Sports without alcohol. Photo: Privat She doesn’t think it will get any quieter, even though alcohol is scheduled to be served in restricted areas during the ski WC in Granåsen in Trondheim. – No, absolutely not. Even though there is a liquor license, people want to drink ahead of the event. People will probably stand outside demarcated areas, as we saw in Holmenkollen.
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Several people fear a drunken party during the ski WC in Trondheim – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
