We talk about events held at Poland’s largest sports and entertainment venue to Małgorzata Marcińska.
Grzegorz Słącz: 2014 was a breakthrough year for Kraków. Until then, the city’s largest venues could host audiences of a mere few hundred; suddenly, we saw the opening of TAURON Arena Kraków, the ICE Kraków Congress Centre and EXPO Kraków. How do you see the impact these major venues have had on Kraków?
Małgorzata Marcińska: With TAURON Arena it’s a bit like with the Waste Thermal Treatment Plant and other major projects stepping way beyond the boundaries of the old and the new. It’s clear that just a few years since their launch we simply can’t imagine the city without them, and it feels like they’ve been here forever. The arrival of the Arena was a breakthrough moment in Kraków’s history, following the decision and long-term planning by Prof. Jacek Majchrowski, first in his role as Voivode of Kraków and then as Mayor of the City of Kraków.
We all desperately needed such a venue. Before, just like before ICE Kraków, our city was simply overlooked by big music and art productions. I occasionally hear that the venue was too costly to build, that tickets are too expensive – but we should remember that concerts by major music stars or international sports events which we now take for granted simply weren’t possible before May 2014 and the opening of the Arena. Such events have a major impact on the city’s economy, and in the first five years the economic impact was close to 400 million zlotys. This benefits local residents and business such as hotels, restaurants and taxi firms.
We mainly think about major events held at the Arena, and their success is determined by their huge, enthusiastic audiences. But it’s also worth talking about the realities of organising such events…
When it comes to the Arena Kraków S.A. which manages the venue, it is important to note that we receive no operational funds from the city budget. The only costs covered by the city is the repayment of the loan taken out to construct the venue. Given the high maintenance costs (approx. 14 million zlotys per year), which have been optimised, the ongoing activities finance themselves. We are a leader in Poland in terms of results – and we are the largest venue of its kind in the country and one of the largest in Europe!
During the challenging time of the pandemic, our main goal was to continue functioning, first by hosting our events online and then gradually returning with sports events and concerts held live; we also worked hard to retain our team who developed the outstanding brand that is TAURON Arena Kraków. Losing these experts would have been devastating in the perspective of our continuing post-pandemic existence.
One of the things TAURON Arena Kraków is famous for is hosting major sports events.
We host European and world championships in sports as diverse as handball, volleyball, karate and ice hockey. Motocross races see competitors leaping high into the air, while the Cavaliada and the Equestrian World Cup hosted 300 horses and riders. The Arena is also perfectly suited to hosting other, frequently unique events, such as important elements of World Youth Days in 2016. The venue was the home to the English-language centre and hosted the meeting between the Pope and volunteers, while the Small Hall provided a space for prayer, contemplation and confession.
And of course there are concerts…
That’s right, all the way from classical to film music and spectacular rock gigs. Metallica’s concert as part of their 2018 world tour was a major production challenge: the stage erected in the centre of the hall meant we were able to fill the stands to the brim. And it was a huge commercial success: the gig was attended by a record-breaking 20,000 fans! Other memorable events were the fantastic performances by Muse and Black Sabbath, as well as the appearance by Linkin Park as part of the Impact Festival hosted at TAURON Arena Kraków since its early days. Stars such as Sting and Paul McCartney bring huge audiences. We are also delighted by the interest in Polish artists: the high attendance at concerts by Dawid Podsiadło and the young vocalist Sanah put them on equal footing with international music stars and confirm our venue’s function as shaping contemporary culture. It’s worth adding that since our launch in 2014, we have been visited by over four and a half million people!
On the other hand, the building and its surroundings don’t just host large-scale productions. You can just turn up and have fun, without even having to set foot inside…
Our ambition is for the Arena to be a living space throughout the year, both inside and out. We hire out the Small Hall for sports events, conferences and meetings. The corridors are used for rollerblading lessons for kids. In winter, we hosted the only curling rinks in Małopolska in our underground car park. We organise projects on the local scale such as the Great Ecology Lesson and Arena in Motion. Since the pandemic forced us to step outside, we launched a project which quickly took root in Kraków and inspired other cities such as Gdańsk and Gliwice. The Arena Garden is a space in the Polish Aviators’ Park encouraging locals to come for a stroll, listen to music and pause for lunch.
The concept, created during the pandemic, has been extremely well received by Cracovians.
And by visitors to Kraków. During the season we were open every day, and locals quickly got used to spending time at the Arena Garden. Our weekend programme started with outdoor breakfasts, and many families stayed until the evening, listening to concerts, enjoying artistic presentations, having picnics or engaging in a spot of exercise. In December, we launched the Winter Arena with an outdoor skating rink, heated seating and food trucks run by professional chefs. And we are known for our good food anyway – our restaurants and snack bars during events are widely praised!
The continuing waves of the pandemic mean that some planned events still need to be postponed, but let’s look towards the future: what can we expect in 2022?
It’s true that the organisers have had to delay certain events, such as the concert by Shawn Mendes originally scheduled for March and postponed until June next year, but we are optimistic and we hope that we won’t have to change our other plans. In late April and early May we will hear Polish rappers Quebonafide and Taco Hemingway, while in May we will host major rock stars Tool, Dream Theater and Scorpions. In April, TAURON welcomes pop and R’n’B stars including Alicia Keys, Céline Dion and John Legend, Polish musicians Patrycja Markowska, Edyta Bartosiewicz and Agnieszka Chylińska, as well as Whitesnake and Smokie. In July we host the Impact Festival and the legendary rockers Pearl Jam, in August we welcome Andrea Bocelli, in September we present the breakneck acrobatics from Cirque du Soleil, while in October we are delighted to host The Cure and the French singer-songwriter Zaz making a welcome return to Kraków. And that’s just some of the artists we will be welcoming in 2022 – we are also thinking ahead to next year and its highlight: a concert by Justin Bieber. We are certainly ambitious!
We were able to weather the major challenges posed by the pandemic, and we are proud that we are able to support our Ukrainian neighbours as they are being brutally attacked in their home country. We are delighted by the solidarity and support from local artists, organisers and ordinary Cracovians collecting money for war refugees at events at the Arena. The partnership between the City of Kraków, our sponsor TAURON Polish Energy and the Poland Business Run Foundation has created a Children’s Haven for young Ukrainian refugees. All this happens in a single space – we want to persevere and host music and sports events because this helps develop our industry, and it provides employment to thousands of people, including those forced to flee their country due to recent events.
