ESPN, the leading ACTION SPORTS content provider and creator of the X Games, in collaboration with Norway's TV2 and local organizer SAHR Concepts, have reached an agreement to bring X GAMES back to Norway for a second consecutive year. The event will take place at the Hafjell ski resort - one of the venues used during the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics - March 8-11, 2017. ESPN will work with TV2 on the Norwegian television production and with SAHR Concepts on the international show feeds and as the local organizer staging the multi-sport event.
X Games Norway 2017 will feature Snowboard and Ski Big Air (Men and Women) and - new to the event - Snowboard and Ski Slopestyle (Men and Women).
ESPN and TV2 will each distribute 13.5 hours of live coverage. TV2 will air the competitions live in Norway, while ESPN's coverage will be distributed live in the U.S. on ESPN3 and as part of its
WORLD OF X GAMES series on ABC. In addition to the content on ESPN's U.S. media platforms,
X GAMES Norway 2017 will be televised globally on
ESPN International networks and distributed to other international media outlets and broadcasters via ESPN's media distribution business.
Like all
X GAMES events, and in addition to world-class
ACTION SPORTS competition,
X GAMES Norway will showcase a world-class musical performance on Saturday night at the Hafjell ski resort as well as local musicians throughout the weekend.
"The success from last winter demonstrated that the
X GAMES have become a favorite of Norwegian youth very quickly," said Jan Ove Årsaether, TV2 head of news and sports. "We got younger and more viewers than expected and
X GAMES mobilized the youth at the event, on television and on social media."
Tim Reed,
ESPN X GAMES vice president, added: "X Games Oslo was an amazing event and it was great to see such strong attendance and fan engagement, particularly for a first-year event. It's clear Norway's rich history and passion for winter sports and its growing list of top homegrown athletes make it an ideal destination for the X Games. We look forward to continue building on that in Hafjell next year with TV2 and SAHR Concepts."
"Our vision is to create the best
ACTION SPORTS event ever in Europe," said Henning Andersen of SAHR, who is the head event organizer for
X GAMES Norway. "We are greatly looking forward to embark on this task."
The first wave of twenty-four invited athletes were also announced today, including Norwegian
X GAMES medalists Tiril Sjaastad Christiansen, Mons Røisland, Kjersti Buaas and Øystein Braaten as well as six-time
X GAMES gold medalist Mark McMorris and
X GAMES Oslo 2016 Ski Big Air gold medalist Henrik Harlaut. For
X GAMES Norway 2017, all
X GAMES Oslo 2016 Big Air and
X GAMES Aspen 2016 Slopestyle medalists received an automatic invite. For the full list of the first-wave invited athletes, please visit www.xgames.com. The second wave of athlete invites will be announced in coming weeks.
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