With this text, we hope to provide some clarity on the matter.

When we decided about 5 years ago to take O-Ringen to Åre, the basic plan was that two of the stages would be held in Björnen. But when the pandemic came and we were forced to adjust and postpone our plans, Björnen was lost as a possible stage venue due to planned new construction. We then moved one of the stages to Järpen and the other to Ånn.

However, despite moving from Björnen, our calculations regarding bus transport solutions over longer distances indicated that we would still be able stay within a reasonable budget. This was also confirmed by our bus company. This was in early autumn, before November 1st.

But this winter, when we started drawing up and calculating exact services and capacity, we found that the above calculation was incorrect, and we suddenly had to work with our bus supplier to make a completely new plan and solution. The main reason for this is the fact that the pandemic has changed the bus industry in a way that neither we nor our bus company could have predicted, increasing the bus rental costs sharply. In total, this translates to an increase of transport costs of SEK 10 million when compared to the original budget.

To handle this cost increase and be able to implement O-Ringen Åre 2023, we have been forced to take strong measures and late decisions. One of these measures is to let the participants bear part of the cost of the bus transports. Another has been to reduce the number of bus services to be able to ensure flows from our satellite parking lots and from our campsite. This forced us to scrap the original bus service from Björnen and only maintain a reduced bus capacity from there.

We understand that these changes might complicate the plans for those of you who have booked accommodation in Björnen, but we hope that we can solve these transport problems together by using the available bus capacity as well as carpooling to our satellite parking.