Skiing World Championships

On Thursday, the World Ski Championship confirmed that Equinor will come in as a sponsor for the championship, which will take place in Granåsen next year.

– We are very satisfied and look forward to the collaboration. Equinor has worked with skiing and promoted it for many years by contributing with sponsorship of recruitment activities. We are delighted to have them on the team, says WC boss Åge Skinstad to Dagbladet.

Adresseavisen mentioned the news first.

Races: – Absolutely insane

The energy company comes in as a sponsor at level three. Under main sponsor Coop and Sparebank1 SMN at the level below.

Equinor received severe criticism from the action group “Stop Oil Oil” during the trial WC in December.

Several campaigners entered the tracks and tried to stop the race.

“The future of winter sports is threatened, why are Tove Moe Dyrhaug and Arne Baumann so quiet? Is it a lack of knowledge or is it the Equinor logo on the heart that puts an end to the power of sport to influence the social debate?” they wrote in a press release.

Tried to stop the race

The fact that the company is now coming in as a sponsor for the World Ski Championships causes Frida Steinbakk in “Stopp Oljeletinga” to rage:

– Given the situation we are in now with the climate crisis and heat records, it is absolutely insane that Ski Norway is helping to legitimize an industry that is not only destroying winter sports, but also our very basis of life. Equinor has no real restructuring plans. 99 percent of the energy they produced in 2023 was fossil-based, says Steinbakk to Dagbladet.

– It is scary that ski Norway does not think through its social responsibility and the enormous impact sport has, she continues.

Press officer for renewables, marketing and midstream at Equinor, Magnus Frantzen Eidsvold, has been presented with the criticism from Steinbakk.

– She is right that energy production is 99 per cent fossil. But that underlines precisely what task we are facing. We must maintain a reliable energy supply at the same time as we reduce emissions, he tells Dagbladet.

The WC manager answers

Dagbladet has submitted the criticism to World Cup manager Skinstad. He rejects parts of the criticism.

– We certainly think through our social responsibility. Equinor has contributed to showing this to skiing for many years through recruitment. We have jointly set up a project with NTNU to find out how we can create sustainable solutions. Not just in the World Cup, but in the future, says the World Cup manager.

To Adressa, Skinstad said that he did not fear that the Equinor agreement would increase the chances of actions during the WC.

Steinbakk says:

– There are many who are critical of Equinor’s sponsorship of skiing. With the situation we are in, it is to be expected that people will show their dissatisfaction with this in the form of actions. Ski-Norge and the athletes must take responsibility and use their platform in a positive direction, not to greenwash Equinor, she says.

– What do you think of that statement, Skinstad?

– We are prepared that everyone does not think the same as us. It’s like that in a democracy that everyone should have their opinion. I think that’s very nice, and I have great respect for people having different opinions, he says and continues:

– We are concerned that the athletes should be able to practice their sport when they are inside the sports arena. That people express their opinion outside the competition facility is part of freedom of expression. But ruining people who have trained for tens of thousands of hours, I think everyone agrees, is not smart.

Sound full alarm

Frantzen Eidsvold says that they do not feel that many people are critical of Equinor’s sponsorship of sports.

– No, we don’t. But those who protest are loud, and that’s perfectly legitimate. We expect that the protests do not go beyond the safety of performers, the public or the campaigners themselves.

60,000 tickets sold

The WC is expected to be a big public celebration. At the time of writing, there are 307 days to the opening ceremony at Torget in Trondheim. Skinstad says that things are starting to fall into place.

– It’s going very well. We have started selling tickets, and so far 60,000 tickets have been sold. We have also carried out a trial WC which gave us useful experience on what was good, and also what challenges we have.

– What did you learn from the trial WC?

– We learned that we have some work to do in terms of transport and information. Now we know the facility better, and we got to test it with proper World Cup races. It is pleasing to see that the race organization works very well. We have received good grades in sport, which is, after all, the most important thing.