Aside from a trip to the International Space Station, Svalbard could be the most uniquely mystifying human escape we can experience in life. Corporate events in Svalbard resemble nothing that has gone before – the place is truly mind-reformatting.
The frigid isolation, the arctic vistas, the total darkness, and physics shows overhead - winter in Svalbard is like outer space on earth. Yet, at the same time, Svalbard teems with life. The huts are bursting with warmth and conversation, the pioneer hotels tell a story of human history in this arctic outpost and nature thrives in the oceans and on the ice sheets.
Even the northern lights become companions, dancing above the stunning, barren plains. This is place where humanity has chosen to insure life against catastrophe in a frozen seed repository – the ‘Doomsday Vault’. At the absolute upper northern reaches of human habitation, Svalbard is a mind-resetting experience that will stay with visitors for a lifetime.
In our pursuit of extraordinary moments, we travel time zones, share bustling restaurants and shuffle crowded pedestrian streets. Yet the truly extraordinary is none of those things in Svalbard. Dining is an escape from the arctic cold & dark, the routes are forged by husky feet or snowshoes, and the time zone is GMT+1 – just go north, a long way north.
It is the return to daily lives, departing Svalbard, that the perplexity of the place reveals itself, our everyday world where daytime means daylight, as the hum of humanity replaces arctic calm as our daily soundtrack, and we realise there is magic in stripping our world back to the awesome power of nature. Just as it was before we were conditioned to sever our bonds with nature.
SVALBARD EVENT - OVERVIEW
Facts & figures
- Longyearbyen height: 0m
- Top height (Newton): 1713m
- Local skiing: Backcountry
- Inhabitants: 2600
Airport transfers
- Longyearbyen | 3 miles
Off-snow
- Northern lights
- Dining
- Museums
- Mining tours
On-snow
- Backcountry skiing
- Snowmobiling
- Snowshoe walking
- Husky riding
SVALBARD SKIING
Les 3 Vallées it isn’t. Skiing on Svalbard is as soulful & natural as can be found anywhere and takes place exclusively in the backcountry, without a Poma or Doppelmayr for a thousand kilometres. Guides are essential for the terrain as much as the polar bears.
This is wild, wild backcountry skiing. But what can be more natural than sliding across this frigid Arctic Archipelago on skis or a board.
The latitude ensures that skiing is possible through to June and for those looking for the ultimate ski experience, sail-to-ski trips allow the clients to stay onboard a yacht, travelling to pristine coastline and ski touring from the water’s edge to the water’s edge.
Few experiences on snow will remotely compete with a sail-to-ski trip in Svalbard.
SVALBARD EVENT ACTIVITIES
Husky rides
Transit the ice & snow in the traditional way.
northern lights
Witness the greatest physics lesson on the planet.
Fine dining
Sample unique dishes from the arctic region.
LONGYEARBYEN TOWN
The world’s northernmost settlement, Longyearbyen is the administrative centre of the Svalbard archipelago. Despite a population of around 2400, the town boasts an international airport and university. Stunningly remote, the tiny footprint of Longyearbyen is dwarfed by the vast expanses of the Svalbard islands.
And with a population of some 3000 polar bears across the archipelago, the ’King of the Arctic’ even outnumbers the human population of Svalbard.
Rugged and remote, the town of Longyearbyen is built with a typical Norwegian permanence, to cope with the extreme latitude. The nature is all-encompassing from the frigid, pristine ocean on the town’s limits to the towering rock & ice (also) on the town’s limits – Longyearbyen is an absolute feast of rugged nature.
Low-rise, the town offers cultural centres as well as cafés, bars and restaurants. Ideally Longyearbyen has everything needed for an event, after all, stepping beyond the town-limits requires a gun-toting guide.
SVALBARD NIGHTLIFE
London, Longyearbyen isn’t. The town of some 2400 inhabitants share just a handful of bars. Whilst thin on the ground, these bars are hubs of social activity and community, where visitors and locals mingle and where an escape from the dark & cold can taste and feel so truly invigorating.
Locally brewed beers are an absolute highlight, product of the northern-most fermentation magic on the planet.
The Karlsberger Pub in downtown Longyearbyen is a popular watering hole. A more international experience is champagne tasting at the Funken lodge. Drinks accompanied by a 6-course tasting menu at Camp Barentz outside the town is another option, or the Barentz Gastro in the Radisson Blue.
SVALBARD MEETINGS & SEMINARS
For meeting planners in search of small, unique meeting rooms, the Funken Lodge is a great option.
The Raddison blue also offers meeting space for formal meetings and seminars. The Huset conference halls offer some of the larger meeting spaces in Longyearbyen and can provide gourmet dining as an accompaniment to the meeting.
Longyearbyen meeting spaces are hugely enhanced by the experience of being on this other-worldly archipelago.
The mind-freeing, brain reformatting experience of the eternal dark or light, the pinprick of civilisation on these vast slabs of rock & ice and the immersion in pristine, rugged nature – all conspire to make the most meaningful of meeting backdrops.
SVALBARD SUSTAINABILITY
Certified a ‘Sustainable Destination’ under Norway’s national accreditation scheme, Svalbard is one of several Norwegian destinations striving to mitigate the impacts of tourism, whilst at the same time ensuring that the socio / economic / environmental landscape benefits from the revenues generated by tourism - events can potenitally generate significant benefits for the host destination.
Standards are periodically tightened to ensure that the archipelago continues to improve on sustainability indicators.
Activity operators, accommodation, bars, restaurants, and museums are amongst the suppliers with sustainability accreditation in Svlabard. Electric snowmobiles skid across the snow, the Svalbard brewery is energy self-sufficient through burning waste for energy, and there is a campaign to reduce the seasonality of the tourist calendar.
SVALBARD - UNMISSABLE
The irony of the Northern lights is that they appear in skies utterly devoid of any other light. Comprehensively explained by physics, they are none-the-less remarkable sights, almost portals to other worlds.
On a basic level, event attendees can't possibly return to their everyday days without recounting their recollections of the aurora borealis to colleagues.
Organise your Svalbard group or corporate winter event with us.
Email or call us on +44 (0) 20 8123 7817.
Provide a little information as to your Svalbard trip / event needs and we can begin to develop some initial ideas for you.