Kontraskjæret, located in the castle in Oslo, has been for many years a gathering place for passionate football fans who want to watch major football tournaments with like-minded people.
Now the future is uncertain.
The agreement between Fotbalfesten AS and Oslo Municipality ends this year. Next summer, five years from now, Oslo Pride will take over.
Scandalous scenes: – Idiot
Fotbalfesten AS general manager Geir Otterhals hopes to have a new venue ready by Sunday night's EC final. It doesn't look like it, but he's optimistic about a quick fix.
– We are working on 20 success criteria. We have presented this to the municipality and given input on which locations could work. Both the bureaucracy and the politicians want our comprehensive arrangement, so we are confident that we will actually achieve this in August, Otterhals told Dagbladet.
Working at: Fotbalfesten AS Managing Director, Geir Oterhals, positive. Photo: Own
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Another football tournament is coming to an end. The EC final will be shown on Kontraskjæret on Sunday, perhaps for the last time.
This year's football gala at the Citadel in Oslo resulted in long queues and great interest, despite the varying weather conditions in central Oslo.
But the general manager of Fotbalfesten AS does not hide the fact that the weather conditions affected the start.
– We don't comment on the numbers, but we can say that we have had a decline. It is due to the bad weather. This probably applies to most of the people in this industry, unfortunately. We have statistics going back 20 years, and the weather this year was unusual. In any case, we are looking positively to the future and looking forward to 2026, explains Otterhals.
Full house: People flocked to Kontraskjæret this year too. Photo: Cornelius Popp / NTB
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The fact that you now have to find a new location to host the big screen football tournament came as a shock to those who travelled to Kontraskjæret earlier in the tournament.
– What are you saying?! The end of the football party? It's very sad, Benjamin Desser told Dagbladet, which did not receive the news.
Otterhals said We will see you Last week it was a boring situation to be pressed. In front of Dagbladet, the commentator explains.
– It is of course sad that we cannot continue with the Contraskaert, but we must respect democracy, even if we disagree with the process and the outcome.
And if a solution is found, Otterhalls has no doubts. Then there will be a football party on the big screen too when the World Cup is held in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
– We are naturally planning a bigger and better event in 2026 – and we hope Norway will qualify.
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