One of Sweden’s most visited and well-known venues, the Ericsson Globe, as of today will have a new name: AVICII ARENA.
Through a unique collaboration between the Tim Bergling Foundation and ASM Global’s Stockholm Live, with Trygg–Hansa and Bauhaus as new naming right sponsors, one of the country’s most iconic buildings becomes a symbol for a new initiative with partners for preventing mental illness for the young people of Sweden.
”It was a significant milestone in Tim’s career when he played here 9 years ago, and he would be extremely proud that this iconic building from today will bear his name,” said Klas Bergling in a recorded announcement. Bergling and his wife Anki Lidén founded The Tim Bergling Foundation after the death of their son the late producer recording artist who took his own life at the age of 28.
“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,” says Andreas Sand, CEO of Stockholm Live who manages Avicii Arena. ASM Global President and CEO Ron Bension said, “With our worldwide reach, ASM Global takes tremendous pride in not only presenting unparalleled entertainment experiences but also in playing a positive role in the lives of our millions of guests in countries throughout the world. We’re honored to participate in this collaboration to help prevent mental illness.”
Visible from most of Stockholm, the historic venue is intended to ”the hub for sharing ideas and host activities with the focus on young people’s mental health,” said Bergling. ”Globally, suicide is the second most common cause for death among the 15-29 age groups. This highly distressing statistic must be changed. It’s only together we kind find a way to make a difference For A Better Day.”
In celebration of the Avicii Arena naming, The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded a new interpretation of the Avicii song ‘For a Better Day’, sung by 14-year-old Ella Tiritiello from Kristianstad.
The Tim Bergling Foundation initiated #ForABetterDay last year, asking young people in Sweden to share their worries, mental health issues and other concerns with the Foundation. These thoughts and voices are being collected and will be presented to Sweden’s Prime Minister in August.
“It is only by listening to the young people and working with them that we can really make a difference,” added Bergling. “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 the Avicii Arena.”
