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Labour Party to spend millions on Utøya revamp

The youth wing of Norway's Labour Party has announced that it intends to resume hosting summer camps on Utøya island, promising to spend 60 million kroner on redesigning the scene of Anders Behring Breivik's killing spree.

Published: 7 September 2012 11:49 CEST
Labour Party to spend millions on Utøya revamp
Photo: NTB Scanpix
Workers' Youth League (Arbeidernes ungdomsfylking –  AUF) leader Eskil Pedersen confirmed on Friday that the party will return to Utøya, the scene of shootings carried out by convicted terrorist Anders Behring Breivik which left 69 people dead.

"We believe it is the best way to honour the victims," Pedersen said.

Pedersen and chairman of the Utøya association, Martin Henriksen, presented the plans for how Utøya will be rebuilt following the attack on July 22nd 2011.

AUF's 22 July Fund has received around 40 million kroner ($68 million)  for the purpose.The plans AUF presented on Friday constituted a total cost amounting to 60 million.

"We are very grateful for all contributions that provide the opportunity to rebuild Utøya as a place where young people can still meet for political engagement and discussion," AUF said in a statement.

Pedersen acknowledged that opinions differ as to how to revamp the island and that many survivors are against a return.

"We have attempted to take into account as much as possible, but we think it is better that the island is a place that is taken care of and where activities are held other than that the island is laid to waste".

The plans for reconstruction have been developed in collaboration with architects Fantastic Norway and PEAB. AUF has decided to create a memorial in the southern-western tip of the island. It is also decided that future summer camps will not be held on or around July 22nd.

The 22 July national support group is reported to be happy with the AUF plans for a memorial.

"We are in dialogue with AUF about the plans for a memorial on Utøya and think they look very nice," said Trond Henry Blattmann to NTB.

He added that the support group was very appreciative of AUF's emphasis on the memorial aspect, underlining that 22 July should be a day for remembrance and not for holiday.

The plans include a new main building which will contain conference space, meeting rooms, dining room, kitchen facilities, balconies, bazaar area and clock tower and the building of new docks.

Furthermore there are plans for a new beach, to upgrade the football and volleyball courts, drainage for the camping area and changes to lighting. New accommodation will be built and the existing buildings will be upgraded.

In addition, the plans involve a new outdoor stage for concerts and cultural events and the demolition of the café building.

Building work will begin with the rebuilding of existing buildings in the autumn 2012, with the remainder of the project implemented next year.

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TRAVEL

Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday 

Find out what's going on in Norway on Tuesday with The Local's short roundup of important news.

Published: 1 June 2021 10:17 CEST
Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday 
Oslo Operahus .Photo by Arvid Malde on Unsplash

Only one in ten Norwegians plan to travel abroad this summer 

Around ten percent of people in Norway are planning to take a holiday abroad this summer, according to a survey carried out by tourism organisation NHO Reiseliv.

Seven out of ten respondents said they still plan to holiday in Norway this year, even if they receive a vaccination before the holidays start.

READ MORE: ‘My arguments didn’t matter’: How I ended up in a hotel quarantine in Norway 

Viken and Vestland are this year’s most popular travel destinations for Norwegians planning a “staycation”. Young people were the most likely to want to remain in Norway this summer. Just under half of those aged between 18 and 29 said they wished to stay in Norway this summer. 

Third of Utøya survivors have received abuse or threats

A third of Utøya survivors have been victims of hate speech or received threats, according to a new survey. 

Three-quarters of respondents said that the reason they received the abuse was linked directly to the Utøya terror attack, the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Studies (NKVTS) found. 

The massacre on Utøya was the second of two terror attacks carried out by Anders Breivik on July 22nd, 2011. Of the 69 people who died in the attack, 32 were under the age of 18. 

Fewer in Oslo willing to ditch cars 

A climate survey carried out by the city of Oslo has shown that fewer people than before are willing to cut back on using their cars. The proportion of those who think that Oslo city centre should be car-free has fallen to 45 percent from 52 percent last year. 

READ ALSO: Could Norway introduce mandatory inbuilt car breathalysers 

When asked whether Oslo City Council had gone too far in removing cars from the city centre, almost half said that they believed that this was the case. 

“A change in the attitude around these measures may be due to more people feeling dependent on cars during the pandemic. There has been a lot of debate about measures that have been introduced or are planned to be introduced,” Heidi Sørensen, Director of the Climate Agency, told the Dagsavisen newspaper

Tighter Coronavirus measures in Trondheim 

Gyms, museums and swimming pools have been closed, and alcohol service in hospitality has been stopped in Trondheim. The new measures come barely a week after restrictions were last tightened. 

“We need to shut down most of Trondheim to get control. It is only days since we last tightened measures, but we are in a situation where we must take even stronger action,” Morten Wolden, the municipal director for Trondheim, told state broadcaster NRK.

Norway reports 292 new Covid-19 cases

On Monday, 292 new coronavirus infections were registered in Norway. This is a drop of 52 compared to the seven-day average of 344. 

In Oslo, 48 cases were recorded, an increase of two on the capital’s seven day average of 46. 

The R-number or reproduction rate in Norway is currently 1.0. This means that every ten people that are infected, will, on average, only infect another ten people, indicating that the infection level is stable. 

Total number of Covid-19 cases so far. Source: NIPH
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