Uncertainty about the former Hartwall arena: Queen + Adam Lambert’s Finland screenings moved to Tampere
As we have reported before the former Hartwall Arena – the current name is Helsinki Hall – there is an uncertain future ahead. Since 2013, the largest concert venue in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, has been owned by Russian oligarchs – Gennady Timchenko and brothers Arkady and Boris Romanovich Rotenberg – who are now on the EU’s sanctions list in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To avoid an association with the Russian main owners, Helsinki-based beverage company Hartwall, the arena’s largest sponsor and nominee, stopped sponsoring and removed all Hartwall signs from the venue walls on March 2, 2022. at the same time, event organizers booking the arena began looking for alternative venues. These provisions included e.g. Manowar, Björk, KISS, Care, Queen + Adam Lambert and Elton John. After BjörkThe Finnish show had to be off completely and Manowar‘s Finland date was moved and moved from Helsinki to Espoo, now there are additional updates.
Two Finns perform Queen + Adam Lambert will be held on the same days as before, but the concerts will be moved from Helsinki to Tampere:
“Queen + Adam Lambert’s concerts, previously planned for Hartwall Arena (Helsinki Hall), have been transferred to Nokia Arena in Tampere. Performance dates unchanged: July 24 and 25, 2022. […] Tickets purchased for the Hartwall Arena show are not valid for the new venue. The ticket office will automatically deliver new tickets to all ticket buyers via email during the spring of 2022. If you have not received your new ticket on June 30th. by, contact the Ticket Office. You have the opportunity to return your already purchased ticket to Ticketmaster until April 19, 2022. […] VR will arrange an additional train for passengers traveling to Helsinki after the concerts – tickets will go on sale during the spring at vr.fi.
– Live Nation Finland
Tickets, ticket return forms and more information can be found here.
Also the date KISS“Finland’s performance remains the same. The concert will even be in Helsinki, moved only a couple of kilometers to the Helsinki Ice Rink:
“The KISS concert, previously planned for the Hartwall Arena (Helsinki Hall), has been moved to the Helsinki Ice Rink. The performance date remains the same: June 20, 2022. […] There will be a very limited number of seats at the event and we want to make sure you still have the opportunity to enjoy the show in the new venue as well. So stick to your ticket: Ticketmaster will automatically deliver new tickets to all ticket buyers via email during the spring of 2022. Tickets purchased for the Hartwall Arena show are not valid for the new venue. If you have not received your new ticket by 31 May, please contact Ticketmaster. You have the opportunity to return your ticket to their place of purchase (Ticketmaster) Until 12.4.2022. ”
– Live Nation Finland
Tickets, ticket return forms and more information can be found here.
Dates of two Finland Elton John‘s farewell tour “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” had to be canceled altogether. Initially, the concerts were postponed several times due to the ongoing pandemic. The latest update was that the performances were due to take place in September 2023:
“Unfortunately, Elton John Farewell’s Yellow Brick Road tour dates at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki have had to be canceled […] Efforts have been made to change the dates, but it has become clear that this is not possible. Customers are therefore asked to return the tickets to their point of purchase. […] We are very sorry for the disruption and would like to offer Finnish fans the opportunity to purchase tickets for the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour at Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th July 2023rd.
– Live Nation Finland
Ticket return requests must be made by May 18, 2022. More information can be found here.
As for the concert Care is concerned, organizers still seem to be looking for an alternative venue.
The former Hartwall Arena may be forced to sell if its debts are not paid, Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen expressed early concern that Helsinki could lose events:
“This can have a negative effect on what kind of event host city Helsinki can be like. Unfortunately, some events may move out of town. ”
– Juhana Vartiainen