New chairs in Stiklestad Amphitheater
We are now starting work on new seating in Stiklestad Amphitheater, which will be ready for the St. Olav's Play in 2026! On Saturday, volunteers will be ready to help with the dismantling of existing benches.
“Stiklestad Amphitheater is a sub-project in Stiklestad for the new 1000 years, which is a large-scale initiative to develop the place Stiklestad towards the National Jubilee 2030! A tender has been announced for a turnkey contract for the delivery of new frames and chairs. The selected supplier will be contracted and announced shortly,” says Terje Dahl, section manager for FDV at Stiklestad National Cultural Center.
Existing concrete slabs will be used, and a frame with chairs will be installed on top. There will be approximately 5000 seats.
"Volunteering has been, and is, an incredibly important factor for Stiklestad and especially the Play about Saint Olav. This time too, volunteers are taking part in a major volunteer effort. They will now start removing benches in the amphitheater so that the work with the new chairs can be installed during the first half of 2026," adds Terje Dahl.
"Now we have the largest outdoor amphitheater in the Nordic region with modern facilities, and there are no limits to what can be arranged in this new amphitheater," says Jostein Grande, head of the Plays Board and thus head of the large volunteer team. Furthermore, an optimistic Grande is aware that the volunteers have managed this area for over 70 years and now we can only look just as far ahead.
In June, politicians in Verdal municipality made a decision to allocate 25 million to Stiklestad for the new 1000 years, of which 5 million were earmarked for seating in Stiklestad Amphitheater.
Private individuals and other stakeholders can also help sponsor a chair in the new amphitheater with 1030 kroner. As a thank you, they will receive their name on a donation board in the amphitheater and digitally until 2030. They will also receive an invitation to an opening event when the new Stiklestad Amphitheater is ready.
Read more and sponsor a chair here.
Volunteers are invited to help dismantle benches from 10 am on Saturday, October 18th and Sunday, October 19th.
Ticket sales for the Play of St. Olav 2026 will start as soon as we have a new seating chart in place, i.e. by the end of October.
Read more about the game here.
Our Story: Since the premiere of the Play in 1954, over 900.000 audiences have seen the "mother of all plays" at Stiklestad. Much has happened since the start, both scenically and sound-wise, the same with benches and seating comfort. The last renewal with backrests on the benches took place in 2002, which was well received by the audience. Upgrading seating comfort in the amphitheater was also a key recommendation in the study "A living play heritage at Stiklestad towards 2030" which was carried out by SNK/Museene Arven in 2023.