One of the major landmarks of Norway’s capital, the Holmenkollen Ski Jump, is being dismantled in preparation for Oslo’s bid to host the 2011 Nordic Skiing World Championships. Originally built in 1952 for the Winter Olympics, the Oslo icon has been upgraded a number of times over the past 50 years. But officials say the ski jump needs a complete overhaul in order to qualify for use in modern ski jumping competitions.
After months of political wrangling over the hefty cost of replacing Holmenkollen, officials decided to tear down the ski jump in stages and build a completely new ski jump in the same place overlooking the city. According to the newspaper Aftenposten, the starting house at the top of the Holmenkollen will be removed first. Next, the mid-section will come down, followed by the whole length of the ramp. Only the tower will remain after everything has been removed.
It will take several months to finish the project, but it is hoped the old ski jump will be completely removed by the end of the year. Reconstruction will start immediately as the new ski jump must be ready by 2010, when preliminaries are scheduled to be held at Holmenkollen for the World Championships.