Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe has been renamed as the Avicii Arena to honour the late producer and recording artist, with the agreement intended to become a symbol for mental illness prevention.
Stockholm Live, managed by ASM Global, made the announcement, which has been made possible through a unique partnership with the Tim Bergling Foundation, and support from local naming rights sponsors Trygg-Hansa and Bauhaus. The venture is intended to represent a new way of arranging naming rights within the industry, with different partners coming together to fund the name change without their branding.
Klas Bergling and his wife, Anki Lidén, founded the Tim Bergling Foundation after the death of their son by suicide in 2018 at the age of 28. Avicii, born Tim Bergling, found worldwide fame through his success as a DJ and producer.
The foundation’s work includes its ‘For A Better Day’ project that collects young people’s voices, thoughts and needs into content that will serve as an important part of the continued Avicii Arena collaboration.
Visible from most of Stockholm, the 15,000-capacity venue which opened in 1989 as the world’s largest spherical building, is intended to become “a hub for sharing ideas and hosting activities with the focus on young peoples mental health,” according to Klas Bergling. He added: “It was a significant milestone in Tim’s career when he played here nine years ago, and he would be extremely proud that this iconic building from today will bear his name.”
Klas Bergling added: “It is only by listening to the young people and working with them that we can really make a difference. We will start from that in everything we do. We call the collection of young people’s thoughts ‘For A Better Day’ because we focused our surveys on what they need for a better tomorrow, and their answers will form the basis of our work inside and outside Avicii Arena.”
In celebration of the new Avicii Arena and the launch of the joint initiative, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded a completely new interpretation of the Avicii song ‘For A Better Day,’ sung by 14-year-old Ella Tiritiello from Kristianstad.
“Being able to use one of Sweden’s most famous and visited buildings as a symbol and meeting place for one of the most important societal issues of our time in the way we now do together with our partners feels fantastic,” said Stockholm Live CEO Andreas Sand. “When we hosted the Avicii Tribute Concert in December 2019 at Friends Arena we got the idea to create a place that could spread the same understanding and community that we had that evening, with a focus on making a difference.”
Trygg-Hansa, one of the biggest insurance companies in Sweden, has been working for several years to prevent and reduce mental illness among young people. Within the framework of Avicii Arena, the focus will be on educational initiatives for high-school students.
“Trygg-Hansa sees mental illness among young people as the single most important societal issue,” said Hanna Axelsson, communications and marketing manager at Trygg-Hansa. “We want to increase knowledge and understanding of young people’s mental health, but we also want to contribute with concrete tools that help young people feel better.
“Within this initiative, we will focus on giving young people tools to influence how they feel, an understanding of what mental illness is and knowledge of where and when they can apply for help and support. We want to show Sweden’s young people that the adult world listens and cares.”
Bauhaus, the biggest construction retailer in Sweden, sees its role in the fight against mental illness both from the point of being a workplace with many young people, and through its long involvement as a main sponsor within sports in Sweden.
“Our contribution to Avicii Arena is that we will influence, inspire and make demands on the sports clubs to put the young people’s mental health at the centre,” said Johan Saxne, marketing director for Bauhaus in Sweden and Norway. “Sports organisations and its leaders must give young athletes the right conditions to feel good with a focus on reduced pressure and more joy through sports.”
The Avicii Arena will become the second major venue in Stockholm to highlight social issues through its naming rights. The Friends Arena’s naming rights are held by Swedbank, but the financial services company decided in 2012 to donate its sponsorship rights for the stadium to Friends, a non-profit organisation which focuses on bullying in schools.
