Hákon Lund is the owner and ‘master of fun’ at Lund Gruppen and the current Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) chairman of IAAPA. The group has its headquarters at Kongeparken (King Park) near the southwestern Norwegian city of Stavanger but also operates Skånes Djurpark in southern Sweden.
Meanwhile, Aasmund Lund runs the travelling carnival Lunds Tivoli, and their younger brother Magnus Lund, who studied event management in the USA, runs the festival division. Lund Gruppen Arrangement (LGA) organises three music festivals in Norway as well as Oslo’s Christmas celebration, Jul i Vinterland.
Delivering fun to different demographics, the Lund family’s diverse but complimentary entertainment interests have served them well over the years.
Lund’s legacy
Håkon Jæger Lund founded the family business in 1895 when he operated rides at parks and pleasure gardens in Oslo, Berlin and Ireland. His grandson Bjørn Lund, father of the current Håkon and his brothers, passed away last December.
“I think the legacy of our father is the quality of operations and human resources,” says Aasmund. “And giving away responsibility,” adds Håkon. “There are so many examples in our industry where a generation is not letting go. He was always very good at letting the family, or whoever, have their space.”
One other Lund Gruppen quality, says Aasmund, is “Giving room for mistakes. We do a lot of exciting things, but we also make a lot of mistakes. Sometimes, we may fail four or five times before hitting a home run.”
Kongeparken is now a finely tuned operation. Rescued by the Lund family in 2007 after going bankrupt under its founder, who opened the park in 1986, it now entertains around 250,000 guests a year.
Kongeparken – hills and thrills
Clinging to the hillside at the foot of a mountain, the park is located in Ålgård, 25km south of Stavanger. The terrain makes for an interesting stroll through the 26-hectare property and its seven lands, some of which are more themed than others. New additions in recent years, such as Raset (The Crash, a Zamperla Disk ‘O Coaster), Stupet (The Plunge freefall tower, by Funtime) and some camping lodges feature wilderness/explorer theming.
Bukkerittet, a Reverchon spinning coaster that has lived at Kongeparken since 2008, was refurbished recently with a medieval look inspired by the tales of Norweigan author Peer Gynt. Elsewhere, the park’s bear mascots feature on several attractions.
Storytelling is important to Kongeparken, and this extends to more than just theming. As the front of the park, one of the most enduring experiences is the Freia Sjokoladefabbrik (Chocolate Factory). Close by is the Barnas Bank (Children’s Bank), which teaches young visitors about the importance of saving money as they are issued with their own bank card.
In the Thea Award-winning Barnas Brannstasjon (Children’s Fire Station), kids are given firefighter training before descending down the pole to board fire trucks and extinguish a “blaze”.
Skånes Djurpark & Lund Gruppen – the adventure continues
Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of Lund’s reign at Skånes Djurpark. Located in the Swedish county of Skåne, the animal park has been in business for over 70 years but was somewhat directionless before the change of ownership. Alongside the animals, which are all Scandinavian breeds, adventure and nature now underpin the stories told in the park.
Five years ago, Håkon Lund told blooloop: “I want us to become the number one outdoor exploration destination in Sweden, and maybe even Denmark and Northern Germany.”
Over the last decade, annual attendance has grown from the tens to early hundreds of thousands. But by focusing on families rather than non-paying school groups, management has been able to boost revenue seven fold.
The work doesn’t stop: “It’s a continuous investment to ensure our guests have more experiences, better food, better infrastructure,” says Håkon. “Ultimately, we want them to stay longer.”
Some imaginative camping concepts have turned Skånes Djurpark into an attractive overnight proposition for families. The latest is the Shaun the Sheep shepherd wagons, complete with charming interiors. The Aardman character, who got his own themed land in 2017, was also playing a starring role in the park’s Halloween event at the time of writing.
Dinosaurs and glamping
Introduced in 2022, Dinosaurier was the last project to leave the drawing board of revered theme park designer Eric Daman (Phantasialand) before he died. Guests encounter 15 dinosaurs from an adventure trail through the forest and witness the feeding of a T-Rex at the end of the experience.
“Skåne is one of the few places in Scandinavia where dinosaurs definitely lived, so the attraction fits very well within the main theme of the park,” explains Glenn André Viste Bøe. The park’s former CEO, now 32, began his career at Kongeparken but has risen quickly through the ranks and now acts as managing director of the park division at Lund Gruppen.
Amongst other things, he has witnessed the roll out of glamping accommodation to both Skånes Djurpark and Kongeparken. The Norwegian property, which has been partnering with hotels in and around Stavanger for years, was first to go down this route, but both have benefited from the staycation trend since the the pandemic.
So, how far do guests travel for such an experience? “It’s about two hours,” says health and safety manager Egil Ravndal. “But we also get quite a lot of families from the local area who want to treat themselves to a night away with a difference.”
Sleeping among the wolves and bears in the forest, or in the kingdom of the red deer, certainly ticks that box for overnight guests at Skånes Djurpark.
Lunds Tivoli – big wheels keep on turning
One type of accommodation you won’t find in any marketing material, but which is important to the smooth running of Lunds Tivoli is the housing provided to employees of the travelling show. Not only is each worker given an air-conditioned room, but meals are served in a state-of-the-art mobile canteen.
“We have two chefs and serve 150 meals a day,” says Aasmund. “When you come in the morning, there is sunrise lighting and bird whistles on the speaker system. At dinner, there is soft music. There are also five rooms of accommodation, a laundry room, and a roof where staff can go and take it easy between shifts.”
Such investment helps foster a loyal workforce, believes the Tivoli boss. “It’s easy to buy a new ride, but if you don’t have the right staff, it is difficult to run them. I think we are the only carnival in Scandinavia, maybe in Europe, that does not have issues with staff.”
This is just as well, because investments like the recently purchased Opera observation wheel take some work to get around the country. One of two giant wheels now operated by Lund Gruppen, the 45-metre construction from Mondial has opened up new opportunities for Lund’s, appearing as a standalone attraction in city centres as well as at fairs and festivals.
Logistics and training
Travelling mainly in the south of Norway, Lunds Tivoli’s regular itinerary sees it clocking up about 10,000 km a year. Journeys between locations have become more comfortable since the arrival of a fleet of 15 brand-new Scania trucks.
“It was a massive investment,” says Aasmund, “but it’s been very positive. We are not fixing trucks all the time; it increases safety on the road and makes the working day better for the staff.”
Unlike at the parks, Tivoli and festival employees do not train at Lund’s Big Bear Academy. “But Aasmund hires a lot of our staff,” says Håkon. “It’s a great recruitment pipeline for the whole group.”
The one-year training programme, of which Viste Bøe was a star pupil, aims to create first-time leaders and has achieved recognition beyond the attractions industry. “Big companies in Stavanger, when they hire people, check if they have been in Big Bear Academy,” says Aasmund. “It has a very high standing in the local community.”
Let the music play
It was after attending various festivals with their rides that Lund’s decided to start putting on their own events.
“It was a huge risk,” says Håkon, “but we said we will own the whole value chain. We will book the acts, supply the attractions, do the ticketing, the marketing; the full execution. Then it is up to us if it is successful or not.”
The family gained some expertise in this field after acquiring the Landstreff music festival when they bought Kongeparken. The three-day event sees thousands of teenagers flock to the park to party ahead of their exams. It is the one event that brings together all three parts of the Lund Group, since a handful of the park’s attractions open for the occasion, supplemented by rides from Lunds Tivoli.
Lund Gruppen Arrangement is also responsible for the Fornebu Music & Arts Festival near Oslo, Elve Festivalen in Drammen, as well as Jul i Vinterland. In addition to this, Magnus Lund continues to be involved behind the scenes at Scandinavia’s largest beach festival, Palmesus in Kristiansand (Norway). Now owned by Superstruct Entertainment and backed by the investment funds KKR and CVC, Lund’s were once partners but retain a minority stake.
“So much has changed in the music industry, with the likes of Live Nation owning festivals, venues and managing artists,” says Håkon. “You either need to become bigger or move on. But we still own 100% of the other festivals and see scope for development.”
Winter Wonder-Lund
A selection of Lund’s travelling rides will be appearing again this festive season in the centre of Oslo for Jul i Vinterland (Christmas in Winterland), as well as at events in Bergen and Trondheim. Since taking over in 2016, LGA has grown attendance at the seven-week event in the Norwegian capital from 500,000 to 3 million. Whilst that includes repeat visitors, it is nevertheless equivalent to over half the country’s population.
“The first year, we had 12 employees,” says Aasmund. “This year, it will be 250. And that’s just for our equipment because we rent out the stalls. It’s hard work, and you have to own the whole chain – the food, alcohol, attractions – to make money.”
Kongeparken’s Christmas celebrations are a much shorter affair. Held for just 10 days each December, they are nevertheless an important revenue stream for Lund’s flagship park, where it is difficult to grow attendance due to the low local population base. Guests pay a premium price for a three hour session in which they can enjoy a selection of rides and attractions, make gifts and meet Santa Claus.
Last year’s Jul i Kongeparken season was fully sold out with 30,000 guests, and this year’s already looks headed in the same direction.
Looking to the future for Lund Gruppen
Even at Skånes Djurpark, growth prospects are limited. The population of Sweden is 10.5 million, with less than 6 million across the other side of the Øresund Bridge in Denmark.
Therefore, “Our focus now is on acquisition and partnerships,” says Håkon. “We constantly evaluate opportunities for new parks, new festivals, things where we can add value. This could be anywhere in Northern Europe, but of course, Scandinavian culture is the culture we know so well.”
Whilst he expects the fifth generation to inherit the business one day, Håkon adds that he is quite happy to divide ownership and operation.
“An owner is not necessarily the best operator and an operator is not necessarily the best owner. So, while I am introducing my kids into the industry as long-term custodians of our family’s heritage, I want to assemble the best possible teams to deliver the best possible experience to our guests. We have great people working for us, and we should let them develop and grow.”
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