Bella Arena is the name of Copenhagen’s new arena, which is built as an extension of the Bella Center Copenhagen, Scandinavia’s largest congress, conference and exhibition centre. With room for 7,000 seated guests in the new venue, Copenhagen can host even larger international events in the future. A strong focus on sustainability throughout the construction process and an innovative partnership with Carlsberg gives Bella Arena a gold certification in sustainable construction.
Bellakvarter in Orestad is already a magnet for international events with Bella Center Copenhagen and AC Hotel Bella Sky, which is only ten minutes away from Copenhagen International Airport and directly connected to the rest of the city through Bella Center Metro Station.
The area is being expanded with an arena with 14,000 flexible square metres so that centre can accommodate 30,000 simultaneous guests in the future. The venue, thus, provides completely new opportunities for Bella Center and Copenhagen to host global business and political conferences as well as cultural and sporting events.
To attract the largest international congresses, Copenhagen has historically lacked two things: hotel capacity and a large column-free arena, where the main speaker could speak to 7,000 participants at the same time.
“The hotels have been added over the last few years, and now we are adding the arena, which, together with the rest of Bella Center, raises the bar for which events we can draw to the capital,” says Christian Folden Lund, CEO of BC Hospitality Group.
The new Bella Arena is connected to the existing Bella Center via a large glass atrium. The arena, the hotel, and the centre are now under one roof and can accommodate events with 30,000 participants. Bella Arena also gets its own identities and entrances to be used for cultural events and sporting events at the same time as there are other business events in the centre.
“We have focused on creating a flexible solution that expands what the entire Bella complex with congress centre, hotel and arena can be used for, so that we are 100 per cent ready, now when the world reopens,” says Christian Folden Lund.
“Bella Arena, which together with Bella Center makes Bellakvarter a new international hub for business events,” says Mikkel Aarø-Hansen, CEO of Wonderful Copenhagen, the official tourism organisation of the capital region of Denmark.
“We must restart the experience economy in full force, and there will be a demand for large events. This requires that we have the right facilities here in the city. The opening of Bella Arena and the potential we now have in Bellakvarter are crucial for the experience economy in the Copenhagen of the future.”
Sustainability and accountability are considered in all parts of the centre and associated hotels. Naturally, Bella Arena was created with the same focus on sustainability.
Sustainable materials, energy efficiency and circularity have been key focus points. This has led to Bella Arena achieving the international gold certification within sustainability from DGNB, the abbreviation (in German) for the German Sustainable Building Council.
In close partnership with BC Hospitality Group’s new beverage supplier, Carlsberg, upcycled beer kegs have been used in the process. The upcycled barrels are used together with recycled wood from the original Bella Center at Bellahøj.
“The DGNB certification is proof that it is possible to think sustainability in large buildings. Also, the opening marks the start of a strategic partnership with Carlsberg, which has strengthened our focus on sustainability,” says Christian Folden Lund.
“Carlsberg is not only a supplier of beverages but an overall sustainability partner with a focus on circularity. For the next many years, we will work together to make guests’ experiences more sustainable.”
