Stockholm’s Olympic Stadium will host its first speedway meeting for nearly thirty years when the Speedway Grand Prix hits the Swedish capital on Saturday 29 September 2001. The Olympic Stadium is one of four new venues for the 2001 series, enabling fans to enjoy the best speedway has to offer in the best stadiums.
Sweden has a rich speedway heritage and the sport has enjoyed an upsurge of interest recently after the stunning achievements of Tony Rickardsson, three times World Champion, and the exposure given by SVT, who will again screen extended coverage of SGP 2001. Rickardsson is thrilled at the prospect of racing in Stockholm: ‘It’s a huge lift for Swedish speedway and the Speedway Grand Prix. For me personally it’s very special because of the way the Olympic Stadium is regarded in Sweden. I’ve never been there even as a spectator and I can’t wait to race there.’
John Postlethwaite, Chief Executive of Benfield Sports International, was also delighted at the prospect of staging a Grand Prix in such a high profile stadium. ‘I’m delighted SVEMO have secured the Olympic Stadium as a venue. It fits in perfectly with our global strategy of moving Grand Prix events to better arenas throughout the world. Sweden has never hosted the finale of the Grand Prix in its current format and the Olympic Stadium will prove a fitting venue to close the 2001 series in style.’
SVEMO’s Secretary General Rolf Sundberg was equally enthusiastic: ‘I’m sure Swedish speedway fans will respond to the Grand Prix moving to Stockholm. It’s a fantastic stadium with superb facilities and I’m delighted to see the Swedish Grand Prix back at a major venue.’
Known locally as simply Stadion, the Olympic Stadium is regarded as Sweden’s most prestigious sports arena. Situated in the centre of Stockholm, it has excellent facilities and good transport links.
Built originally for the Olympic Games in 1912, Stadion was used regularly for speedway from 1948 until 1971 when an athletics strip replaced the shale track. Olle Nygren won the first race there – The Swedish Riders Championship in October 1948.
Swedish League side Getingarna used the stadium from 1949 to 1953, but from 1954 to 1971 Stadion was only used for major meetings such as Test Matches and Swedish Finals. The first unofficial World Pairs Final was held at Stadion in 1968. The final meeting to be held there was The Swedish Final on 2 October 1971, won by Gote Nordin. Stadion is also home to Swedish Premier League football club, Djurgarden.
For further information
Jonathan Sim at Benfield Sports International
+44(0)207 578 7061/+44 (0)7788 717 829
www.speedwaygp.com