Takes hold before another big party weekend – VG

– Everyone stormed to the city last weekend to celebrate. It was chaotic and could have been dangerous, says section leader for preventive patrol in the Trondheim police Torkjel Rendal.

It became so critical in the capital of Trøndelag that some fainted because the air was forced out of them in the long and dense queues in front of the nightclubs.

– We had to take someone out of the queue, but no injuries were reported, Rendal says.

Now the police in Trondheim are getting ready for a new weekend with lots of partying, in full collaboration with the nightlife industry and the municipality, which has provided extra security service and physical barriers.

– People want to go out now and we are dealing with generations who have not experienced being at a nightclub before, due to the long closure. One of the measures we initiate is more area in the queues. The queues must be more justifiable, says the police chief.

This weekend, the police provide extra staffing in what is considered the core time in the nightlife.

Sold out for beer and spirits

In Oslo, the police moved out to 190 assignments on what was referred to as the new liberation day, Saturday 25 September.

The police compared the weekend with a New Year’s Eve celebration or May 17 celebration in the capital.

The police were prepared for the reopening party and had manned up, said police inspector Egil Jørgen Brekke at a press briefing outside the police station in Greenland last Sunday.

Also this weekend, the police are expecting New Year’s Eve conditions in Oslo.

– We expect a lot of people out and just as much activity this weekend as well. That is, more than normal. We are well staffed, prepared and equipped, says acting chief of staff at the Oslo police district Henrik Hartmann.

He will not go into how big the extra staff is.

– The Oslo police are well used to high nightlife activity, something happens all the time in the capital. We hope for a good mood and that people pay attention to each other and are patient when it gets crowded in long queues, and when it takes longer than usual to get home again.

This weekend, the music festival by: Larm in Oslo is also taking place.

– We are also prepared for that. This weekend as last, we will take continuous priorities.

– It was a tough, fun and demanding weekend, says Karl-Henning Svendsen.

He is the owner of Noho Norway, which owns and operates 35-40 restaurants, bars and nightclubs in five cities in Norway.

His nightclubs emphasized letting in fewer people than the places normally have the capacity for and said early in the queues outside that it was full.

– Someone said it was galimatias of Erna to open so fast last weekend, I do not agree with that statement. We quickly adjusted and opened up. We did not experience any fighting or accidents. This weekend we put on even more guards, bartenders and cleaning staff, says Svendsen.

Watch video – this is how the reopening chaos was:

Last weekend, his nightclubs were sold out for both beer and spirits. This week, the warehouses are filled up, the rosters have been arranged and now the nightclubs are preparing to maximize capacity and let in full houses.

Noho operates Kulturhuset, Prindsens Hage, Dubliner, Eilifs and Youngs and Colonel Mustard in Oslo, to name a few.

– We have had quiet days in the nightlife industry the last year and a half, so it is a bit of a transition when five men in the bar simultaneously shout for a drink. We have been used to apps. But now we are back to everyday life, and we are happy about that, says the nightlife baron.

Fill and crowded streets

In Bergen, people went from house to house and filled Torgallmenningen and streets and alleys in wild joy last weekend.

Police in several places in the city had to go out to fight with more than five people involved.

For the city’s bar inspectors, it was an abrupt transition.

– For us it was a special weekend. One day it was the restriction, the next day none, says bar manager, Terje Gjertsen. He is the head of the office for liquor in Bergen municipality.

On Friday night, the inspectors checked the distance in the queues and the table meter. On Saturday, no more corona rules and infection control rules applied, and then it was “business as usual” to check violations of the Alcohol Act.

– We did not come across any violations in the reopening intoxication. But there were a lot of fills and crowded streets. It was the May 17 atmosphere in Bergen, says Gjertsen.

He says that there has been a huge challenge with queues outside the pubs during the pandemic. Bergen has been open most of the time, while Oslo for long periods has had a completely closed nightlife.

– We expect that it will be a lively weekend this weekend as well. Already on Wednesday, there were a hundred in line outside a Silent Disco in the city. But we do not put in any extra measures, says the bartender.

In Stavanger, the police were pleased with the people’s partying when the pandemic restrictions were finally declared in the southwest of the country, and posted a friendly message on Twitter: “Good mood in connection with reopening!”, The police wrote.

– Here in Stavanger it was a complete slip, everyone was going in and out at once, says comedian Rune Bjerga.

He became nationally known for his hilarious parodies of Minister of Health Bent Høie during the pandemic.

Now he, together with Stavanger Mayor Kari Nessa Nordtun, is the initiator of a large folk festival and city party in Stavanger, which they hope to be able to arrange before the year ebbs out.

– The deprivation of liberty we have experienced has been violent for people. We arrange this party to honor those who have been in the front line, those who are no longer here and for all those who have sat at home with dark thoughts and not seen light at the end of the tunnel, says Bjerga.

In Stavanger, there will be a full party, but not a drunken party, the comedian adds.

Watch the Høie parody here:

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