What a magical evening!

The concert with Sting is over. 10,000 spectators have gone out into the summer night, a magnificent cultural experience richer. Bodø has once again proven that we can achieve anything. If we just put in the effort.

Parken Live should be bragging. Again. They have created the Parken Festival for us for ten years and shown us a taste of what the big world has to offer in terms of star-class artists. Now they have taken the big rock production indoors. Nordlandshallen is now proving to be an almost ideal concert arena. Firstly, it is centrally located with large parking areas in the immediate vicinity. Secondly, it can accommodate an incredible number of people. I am sure that many were surprised when they discovered that the stage was located approximately in the middle of the hall. And yet there was plenty of room for 10,000 people. The fact is that the hall could easily accommodate twice as many. However, as long as more escape routes are not made, the capacity in the hall will not be increased. Maybe ten thousand is enough for a city the size of Bodø. It is still tempting to play with the idea of which artists could have visited us if Parken Live could have raked in 15 million in ticket revenue instead of half as much as it does now. 

I don't think there's ever been a performance like it at Nordlandshallen. Glimt will have to excuse me. Sting is, in addition to being an incredibly talented vocalist and musician, also a fantastic composer and supplier of hits. This evening we were served to everyone.

The sound was a bit woolly at the start, but this gradually improved and the last half of it was simply wonderfully beautiful. And never before have we been served three encores of this calibre.

The event itself also went completely smoothly. The entrance went without any problems and everyone got into the hall quickly. The police report a quiet and peaceful evening, while security chief Eirik Pettersen was able to breathe a sigh of relief after a busy, but, fortunately, undramatic evening. No self-evident fact when "half" the city is gathered in a small area.

What now for Parken? What's next? Rune Lem from Live Nation told AN this weekend that he promises more big names for Bodø. Gøran Aamodt has hinted at the same thing several times. This could mean that big concerts in Nordlandshallen are something we can look forward to in the years to come. I personally think that Elton John is the next big star for Bodø. That would have been absolutely fantastic.

Gøran Aamodt has said time and time again that the biggest artists will never come to Bodø. We are too small, we are too far away.

Hell, after an evening like this, it's okay to dream. 

We want more of this!

(c) AN.no by Helge Grønmo