Under Olympen’s forty years as multi-purpose arena, the surroundings needs and requirements has changed. In the seventies, the performing artists came with all their equipment in their own cars. Today there is barely space for the audience. The nineties tests required new conditions which now has been solved by a new major hall at Sparta's western entrance. Theatrical works are generally more ephemeral than HippHipp and thus requiring a different flexibility of both stage and technology. It has therefore again become times to turn the page. With Actic’s plant a new, student-near and long-term focus on business in the premises is chosen. Actic’s new ultra-modern plant is expected to be completed in autumn 2011.
Olympen is located in Sparta built in 1970-1971 and which also includes 597 student apartments and several commercial businesses. The premises was originally intended as an arena for handball league games, but plans were put aside due to too narrow dimensions of the game plan.
In addition to a more modest use of sports, the concert arena Olympen developed with Stefan "Julius" Malmström's help. During the 70's 90's Olympen was visited by the music industry's largest media personalities. The artist list is impressive (see PDF for example here). The last really big concerts were performed by "Kent" when during a few nights in December 2007 they enthralled a packed audience of about 2,000 people per night.
The nineties was the university's decade of Olympen. Many former students will recall with anguish the large auditorium tests from those days.
When we went into the new millennium the audiences rediscovered Olympen - with a vengeance! After the TV success of "HippHipp" the duo Jansson / Wester put up the show "HippHipp [pau riktit]" which was sold out during the years 2003-2004. There were no fewer than 150 performances with a total of 180 000 visitors! In the following years, a series of concerts were arranged by the scene organizers United Stage and KB in Malmö.
Trade fairs and conference business has always been an alternative to other activities on the premises. Olympen has offered the companies of Ideon, among others, the only possibility in Lund to accommodate all the staff at one time. Record fairs and car shows are examples of some of the many fairs arranged on the premises.