September 3, 2020 - Three of Croatia's most internationally famous venues in the events industry were lit in spectacular red on Monday. Pula amphitheatre, Zagreb Arena and Fort Punta Christo were bathed in light from sunset until after dark

Three of Croatia's most internationally famous venues used by the events industry were lit in spectacular red on Monday. Pula amphitheatre, Zagreb Arena and Fort Punta Christo, also in Pula were bathed in light from sunset until after dark.

Though the change in appearance was enjoyable and visually impressive, the action was undertaken to send a strong message. It was part of a worldwide campaign to highlight the effects of Coronavirus on the events industry and those who work within it.

Some of the most famous historical buildings, concert venues and event halls in the world joined the Red Alert campaign and were similarly lit on the same night.

Large public events have been put on hold over most of the world under epidemiological guidelines. Seating arrangements in theatres, conference halls, sports and music halls are simply not compatible with social distancing regulations – many such venues could not make a profit by holding events at 50% capacity.

This has affected millions around the world who work in the events industry, from musicians and performers to technicians, bookers, agents, the media, PR representatives, venue management and general staff. Freelancers operating within the events industry are some of the hardest hit and have had all of their income sources removed completely. Many who operate in the events industry are highly trained and skilled, so diversifying into other industries can be problematic.

Pula amphitheatre (also known as Pula Arena) is a massively popular open-air venue in warmer months. It holds spectacular opera, ballet and classical music events as well as hosting a film festival. Like Zagreb Arena, it attracts some of the biggest names in pop and rock music. Fort Punta Christo has become famous all over Europe and further over the last decade, thanks to the internationally renowned Outlook and Dimensions festivals. Those events were supposed to take place in Tisno, at The Garden festival site. But, along with seven further festivals due to be held there this year, they chose to cancel in order to safeguard the health of their attendees and locals.


Fort Punta Christo in Pula is widely known as a host site for international music festivals

The Croatian events industry alone is comprised of 2000 business entities, has more than 12,000 employees, and annually generates HRK 4.5 billion. Autumn/winter 2021 is the soonest estimated point at which large scale events could return to normal. The Red Alert campaign has been undertaken to highlight the plight of the events industry as many sections within it face total collapse if deprived of work until then. 



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May 25, 2020 —  It survived several empires, wars and an epidemic or two in its 2,000 years of existence. Pula’s Roman Arena has now seen through the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as well, reopening to visitors every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Archaeological Museum of Istria announced on Monday.

The museum, which manages Pula’s arena and other monuments, closed the Roman relic and other facilities to visitors on March 13 in accordance with measures to combat the spread of coronavirus enacted by the City of Pula.

The amphitheater technically did open once, allowing local cellist Stjepan Hauser to stream a concert from the arena.

Visitors will have to adopt epidemiological measures, and working hours will be extended if there is more interest in visits.

According to the Museum Documentation Center (MDC), Croatian museums had more than 5.2 million visitors last year. The Archaeological Museum of Istria had more than 575,000 visitors.

The arena is the most spectacular monument that Pula offers, and thanks to it, the Archaeological Museum of Istria generates large revenues. 

In the first eight months of last year alone, the Arena was visited by 373,583 tourists. Revenue from tickets was HRK14.6 million, which is 2.6 percent or about HRK370,000 more than in 2018. And there were about two percent more visitors.

April 28, 2020 - Thousands around the world watched Stjepan Hauser serenade an empty Pula Arena from their computer screens Monday night.

Just like the many musicians around the globe who are dedicating their music to everyone fighting against COVID-19, so did Croatia’s celebrated cellist Stephen Hauser of 2Cellos fame.

Glas Istre reported that Hauser held a special concert in an empty Pula arena, which was streamed on YouTube Monday night. The concert aimed to send a message of thanks to all those risking their lives to save ours. 

At 7 pm, thousands of fans around the world jumped onto YouTube to watch the musical spectacle, which you can find in the video below.

One important note was sent before the concert - don't go to the Arena, because the concert was pre-recorded. 

“Thanks to everyone for the considerable interest in the live-streamed concert on Monday, just like wanting to come to the Arena to see the event. Since we have received information that people are planning to go to the Arena at the time of the streaming, which is by no means allowed or safe, it is important to know that the concert was recorded in advance and the streaming will be held as scheduled. 

Public gatherings are banned and I did not want you to endanger your health and put you in unnecessary danger. After all, this is why I decided to stream this kind of concert, so you could follow it from the safety of your homes,” Hauser said.

The concert is dedicated to those in the fight against COVID-19. Hauser also supported the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund in this way.

“In these difficult times, the human spirit showed all its strength. We have found it in the people who surround us every day and whose extraordinary work saves lives, the workers on the front line, and all of us who stayed home. Although we are forced to be separated, we remain together. Staying together while keeping a distance and finding hope in our humanity,” Hauser said.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

Pula is a destination that is gradually building its touristic value outside of the old and rather self-limiting ''sunshine and sea'' label, which is unfortunately something Croatia has bought far too much into and is now struggling to promote the depth of what it has to offer, from gastro tourism to sustainable tourism, this country has a lot to offer and Pula's efforts in terms of culture and creative potential have just recently been recognised by the European Commission (EC).

Istria in general is a destination that seems to grasp what being sustainable really means. Far from basing its entire offer on the sunshine and the glorious Adriatic sea, this region of Croatia is known for its wine, its food, its beautiful landscapes which for many are reminiscent of nearby Italy, on top of everything else that Croatia has to offer to foreign visitors. Sport, however, could potentially be yet another acheivement, and Istria could add this to its proverbial portfolio.

As Glas Istre/Chiara Bilic writes on the 4th of November, 2019, a new contract between Pula Airport and the popular British low-cost airline Easyjet has now been signed at the Tourism Fair in London, UK. Under that contract, three new lines should operate from the United Kingdom to the Istrian city of Pula.

The director of Pula Airport, Svemir Radmilo, said that back in 2015, 15,000 passengers arrived in the city with Easyjet, and this year that number increased to 150,000, which is no small feat and confirm's both Pula and Istria's popularity among Northern European tourists.

The good news for Pula is the possibility of holding a top tennis spectacle at the beautiful Pula Arena, which was announced by the director of Istria's Tourist Board, Denis Ivošević.

"We have spoken with Wimbledon with the aim of creating a two-day tournament in which tennis legends would participate," Ivošević said, seemingly not giving much away, but the news is encouraging for Istria as a whole.

Make sure to follow our dedicated sport and travel pages for much more.

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of October, 2019, after investing more than 113 million euros across several key markets, the majority owner of the popular Pula Arena's plan is to invest another 340 million euros in the new Art'otel London Hoxton and Art'otel New York projects.

The Dutch PPHE Hotel Group, the majority owner of the well known Croatian company Arena Hospitality Group, has opened the brand new Park Plaza Vondelpark hotel in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in which it has invested 10 million euros in total. The new hotel in the Dutch capital boasts 102 rooms and will soon have a new restaurant and bar, as well as a gym, a private garden and several meeting rooms.

With this large investment, PPHE has completed a multi-year investment cycle of more than 113 million euros on key markets, including that of Croatia.

"This hotel, located in the highly desirable Amsterdam district of Oud-Zuida, perfectly complements our strong offer in the city, with our Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam hotels that we remodeled in 2018, and Art'otel Amsterdam," said PPHE Hotel Group's CEO Boris Ivesha, Chairman of the Arena Supervisory Board.

As previously mentioned, the CEO also announced that they expect to spend another 340 million euros on new projects such as Art'otel London Hoxton and Art'otel New York. As is known, the company announced the first Art'otel outside Europe last spring, that being the facility in the Big Apple.

Arena Hospitality Group, in addition to being the majority owner of the Pula Arena, managing and developing its own Arena Hotels & Apartments and Arena Campsites brand, through PPHE Hotel Group Limited, as a majority owner, has the exclusive right to operate and develop the international Park Plaza brand in eighteen Central and Eastern European countries and to manage the exclusive Art'otel brand.

To briefly reall, the same company purchased Hotel 88 Rooms in the Serbian capital of Belgrade back during this spring for a price of 47 million kuna.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and travel pages for much more.

The legends of Bayern Munich Giovane Elber, Paolo Sergio, Klaus Augenthaler and Croatia’s very own Ivica Olić delighted the people of Pula as they announced the football spectacle held tonight at the Pula Arena. As announced, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli and his associates joined them, reports Glas Istre on July 8,  2019.

Filip ŠKATAR

The football greats of one of the largest clubs in the world signed photographs, shared club souvenirs and attracted numerous tourists, including many Bavarians and supporters of the club, who could not miss the opportunity for a photo or the chance to take home a valuable souvenir. The Legends of the Croatia national team were not able to address this morning’s crowd, though they will be ready to participate in tonight's spectacle. 

Filip ŠKATAR

Recall, the ancient amphitheater in Pula will transform into a football field for the first time in history for a spectacular sporting event which will feature the legends of Bayern Munich and the legends of the Croatia national team. This spectacle is the result of the strategic partnership between the Istria County Tourist Board and the powerful Bavarian club which was agreed year ago and will continue for three years. 

The basic idea of the strategic partnership was to combine two premium brands that would help to identify quality and superior products by linking marketing activities in the offline and online segment, e-marketing, social networks, and a specific marketing campaign in collaboration with Bayern.

The strategic partnership allows Istria to cooperate on nine major marketing projects. All projects are positioned so that they take place in the period that is most important for the tourist promotion of Istria, i.e., the winter months and the preseason.

The Istria County Tourist Board announced the names of some of the Bayern Munich legends we can expect in Pula, including Ivica Olić, Paulo Sergio, Giovane Elber, Martín Demichelis, Luca Toni, Klaus Augenthaler and Marcel Witeczek.

Some of the famous footballers who will represent Croatia are Stipe Pletikosa, Robert Jarni, Ivan Klasnić, Marjan Mrmić, Ardian Koznik, Petar Krpan, and Ognjen Vukojević.

Inside the arena, a small field of 40 meters by 20 meters will installed. 

Between the games, the experience will be complemented by a music program and numerous performances, and after the winner is announced, the VIP Lounge in the Arena will continue with an entertainment program and DJs.

Schedule of events:

20:00 - 20:30 Junior’s match

20:30 Event announcement with a presentation of partners and sponsors

          Presentation of all teams (two ‘Vatreni’ and two Bayern Munich teams)

          Draw

20:50 – 21:15 First semi-final match

21:20 – 21:45 Second semi-final match

21:45 – 21:55 Music program/Performances

22:00 – 22:25 Match for third place

22:30 – 22:55 Final

The games are followed by an awards ceremony and after-party with DJs in the VIP lounge of the Arena.

FC Bayern Munich is the 4th most valuable club in the world and one of the main brands in Germany, and the key is the market. Namely, Germany is Croatia’s most significant and largest broadcast market, and within Germany, Bavaria certainly has the largest share. Thus, the strategic partnership between FC Bayern Munich and Istria is certainly one of the largest and most significant marketing projects in tourism.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

July 3, 2019 - As we have previously announced, the ancient amphitheater in Pula will transform into a football field for the first time in history on July 8 for a spectacular sporting event which will feature the legends of Bayern Munich and the legends of the Croatia national team. This spectacle is the result of the strategic partnership between the Istria County Tourist Board and the powerful Bavarian club which was agreed year ago and will continue for three years, reports HRTurizam.

The basic idea of the strategic partnership was to combine two premium brands that would help to identify quality and superior products by linking marketing activities in the offline and online segment, e-marketing, social networks, and a specific marketing campaign in collaboration with Bayern.

The strategic partnership allows Istria to cooperate on nine major marketing projects. All projects are positioned so that they take place in the period that is most important for the tourist promotion of Istria, i.e., the winter months and the preseason.

So far, they have accomplished seven of the nine major activities.

1. Selecting and filming three FC Bayern Munich players as the main testimonials for the tourist promotion of Istria - significant destination campaigns;

2. Appearance of Bayern representatives at the renowned tourist fair 'Free' in Munich with all relevant promotional activities at the fair;

3. Matchdaypresenter intended for owners, co-owners and strategic partners;

4. Promotion of Istria through all channels in the online and offline segment with all presentation channels at the Allianz Arena for seven days;

5. Matchdaypresenter intended for media representatives;

6. A communication campaign through all of FC Bayern Munich's channels worth €150,000;

7. Ticket package for promotion of Istria at the Allianz Arena in Munich

The remaining two are also the most important projects - the annual workshop of FC Bayern Munich (which was just held from June 25-27) and the best way to complete the first year of cooperation - the legends match between Croatia and FC Bayern Munich. 

The football legends of Bayern Munich and the Croatia national team will meet at the Pula Arena on July 8. The ancient amphitheater will transform into a football field or, more accurately, due to the lack of space, a futsal field, for the very first time. 

The Istria County Tourist Board announced the names of some of the Bayern Munich legends we can expect in Pula, including Ivica Olić, Paulo Sergio, Giovane Elber, Martín DeMichelis, Luca Toni, Klaus Augenthaler and Marcel Witeczek.

Some of the famous footballers who will represent Croatia are Stipe Pletikosa, Robert Jarni, Ivan Klasnić, Marjan Mrmić, Ardian Koznik, Petar Krpan, and Ognjen Vukojević.

Inside the arena, a small field of 40 meters by 20 meters will installed. 

Between the games, the experience will be complemented by a music program and numerous performances, and after the winner is announced, the VIP Lounge in the Arena will continue with an entertainment program and DJs.

Schedule of events:

20:00 - 20:30 Junior’s match

20:30 Event announcement with a presentation of partners and sponsors

          Presentation of all teams (two ‘Vatreni’ and two Bayern Munich teams)

          Draw

20:50 – 21:15 First semi-final match

21:20 – 21:45 Second semi-final match

21:45 – 21:55 Music program/Performances

22:00 – 22:25 Match for third place

22:30 – 22:55 Final

The games are followed by an awards ceremony and after-party with DJs in the VIP lounge of the Arena.

FC Bayern Munich is the 4th most valuable club in the world and one of the main brands in Germany, and the key is the market. Namely, Germany is Croatia’s most significant and largest broadcast market, and within Germany, Bavaria certainly has the largest share. Thus, the strategic partnership between FC Bayern Munich and Istria is certainly one of the largest and most significant marketing projects in tourism.

To read more about travel in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

An innovative tourism promotion from Varazdin County in one of Croatia's most versatile locations, as Croatian naive art is celebrated in hot air ballooning style in Pula on June 22, 2019.

A rather unusual sight for Pula residents and tourists a few years ago, as the Pula Arena, the 6th largest Roman amphitheatre in the world, welcomed yet one more innovative tourism project. 

The Arena, which has already hosted an ice hockey tournament, various concerts from the biggest name in music, and soon a match between legends of Croatia and Bayern Munich, welcomed an altogether different event a few days ago, as Varazdin County arrived in Istria to present its tourism offer to the people and tourism of Istria. 

Varazdin food and wine specialities were accompanied by traditional music and dance, and the entire event was protected by the UNESCO-protected Purgeri soldiers of the Varazdin Guard, but by far the star attraction was the hot air balloon, which took centre stage.

Hot air ballooning is popular in the Zagorje region, and there is an annual Ballooning Rally, which takes place in April. The balloon which starred in Pula showcased one of the most famous works of one of Varazdin County's most famous cultural icons - The Flower Celebrates by Ivan Rubazin of Novi Marof, one of the stars of the Croatian naive art scene. 

There is a wonderful video of the event, which can only be viewed via this link, as well as a short video report by HRT. For more information on the event, the Varazdin County Tourist Board has issued a press release, which you can read here. 

To learn more about the amazing events held at Pula Arena, check out the dedicated TCN page, and to follow the latest news from Varazdin County, TCN's coverage of Varazdin can be found here. 

June 25, 2019 - The football legends of Bayern Munich and the Croatia national team will meet at the Pula Arena on July 8, as part of a spectacular program prepared by the Istria County Tourist Board. The ancient amphitheater will transform into a football field or, more accurately, due to the lack of space, a futsal field, for the very first time. 

Copyright Romulic & Stojcic

The Istria County Tourist Board announced the names of some of the Bayern Munich legends we can expect in Pula, including Ivica Olić, Paulo Sergio, Giovane Elber, Martín DeMichelis, Luca Toni, Klaus Augenthaler and Marcel Witeczek.

Some of the famous footballers who will represent Croatia are Stipe Pletikosa, Robert Jarni, Ivan Klasnić, Marjan Mrmić, Ardian Koznik, Petar Krpan, and Ognjen Vukojević.

Inside the arena, a small field of 40 meters by 20 meters will installed. Presale tickets can be purchased online at ticketshop.hr. Prices begin at 12 euro, and proceeds will be directed to humanitarian purposes.

Between the games, the experience will be complemented by a music program and numerous performances, and after the winner is announced, the VIP Lounge in the Arena will continue with an entertainment program and DJs.

Presale tickets can be purchased at ticketshop.hr, at all Tisak selling points, and the box office in front of Arena on the day of the event. 

Schedule of events:

20:00 - 20:30 Junior’s match

20:30 Event announcement with a presentation of partners and sponsors

          Presentation of all teams (two ‘Vatreni’ and two Bayern Munich teams)

          Draw

20:50 – 21:15 First semi-final match

21:20 – 21:45 Second semi-final match

21:45 – 21:55 Music program/Performances

22:00 – 22:25 Match for third place

22:30 – 22:55 Final

The games are followed by an awards ceremony and after-party with DJs in the VIP lounge of the Arena.

This event is the result of the strategic partnership of Istria and FC Bayern, which was signed in June last year for three-year cooperation.

Before the friendly match, from June 25 to 27, there will be about 110 representatives of the management of the German first-division club, co-owners and strategic partners of Bayern.

The strategic partnership is the largest and most important marketing project in Istrian tourism, and it is also a strategic project in positioning Istria as a destination.

The basic idea of the strategic partnership was to connect two premium brands which would be identified by their quality and top-class products through the networking of marketing activities offline and online, e-marketing, social networks and concrete marketing campaigns in cooperation with Bayern.

In the framework of the strategic partnership, the Istria County Tourist Board has contracted 10 marketing projects to use the strength of the FC Bayern Munich brand and thus incorporate a part of the image and reputation of Bayern into the brand of Istria. This contract represents the biggest and most powerful advance of Istria as a destination in the marketing sense, and the effects of this partnership will have an impact on the global level, primarily thanks to the popularity of the legendary club around the world.

The organizer, the Istria County Tourist Board, promises an unforgettable and unprecedented experience for everyone.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

Telegram.hr reports on June 17, 2019, that both sold out Foo Fighters’ concerts at the Pula Arena, which will be held on June 18 and 19, will be the first in Croatia to use a specially designed cup to reduce the use of single-use plastic, the Croatian organizer of the shows, the Los Angeles Agency (LAA), announced on Monday. 

The cups will be painted with the motifs of the popular rock band, and after use, visitors can bring them home as a souvenir.

Concerts and festivals are events where a considerable amount of single-use plastic is used and thrown away. Therefore, the organizers of the concert - the LAA and Ožujsko Glazbena Točionica, announced with pride and pleasure that the highly anticipated spectacle in Pula Arena is setting new standards in organizing concerts and events of this type.

“Everyone, on the other hand, can and must face the big world initiatives of reducing the use and throwing away of single-use plastics at concerts and festivals. We are all responsible, and the guys from Foo Fighters, with whom this initiative was launched, are also well aware of it. This is the first concert in the Pula Arena, but also in Croatia, to introduce washable cups, and certainly not the last,” the organizers said. 

Concert-goers will be able to take their cups with them to the bars located within the Arena and the upper end of the amphitheater when ordering drinks. While the cups can be brought home as a souvenir, there will also be several collection stations within the Arena for visitors who wish to leave them. 

The Foo Fighters will perform at the Pula Arena for two sold-out shows, on June 18 and 19, with Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes as the opening act. Doors for the Arena open at 6 pm.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.