Anna Sjölund
European Programming Director | ASM Global
“Let’s be entirely honest, Anna joining the ASM Global European programming team is nothing short of seismic,” said Brian Celler, senior vice president content and programming for UK & Europe at ASM Global, after Anna Sjölund joined the team as European Programming Director at the end of last year. He wasn’t exaggerating. Sjölund is considered one of Europe’s premier promoters, with an unrivaled network in Sweden and the Nordics.
Sjölund joined ASM from Live Nation, where she had built her career across more than two decades. She joined Thomas Johansson’s EMA Telstar, the company that used to produce all of ABBA’s tours, as a production assistant in 2000 and rose through the ranks.
EMA was acquired by Clear Channel in 1999, which later morphed into Live Nation Sweden in 2008. She has served as vice president of operations of Live Nation Central and Eastern Europe from 2010 to 2013, and led the touring and festival business at Live Nation Sweden for more than 10 years. Most most recently she also served in a global role as senior vice president of touring, international.
She’s promoted hundreds of arena and stadium shows in the region with world-class acts, and is credited with developing international festival brand Lollapalooza in Stockholm, as well as being a longstanding promoter of the NHL Global Series in Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and Germany.
ASM Global has been operating in Sweden for a while, so, when Sjölund joined, she had a lot to work with, including developing and curating the calendar of events at ASM Global’s portfolio of stadiums, arenas, and theaters in the region, including Strawberry Arena, Tele2 Arena, Avicii Arena, Södra Teatern, and Kulttuuritalo.
Strawberry Arena is the country’s national stadium, formerly known as Friends Arena. Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Pink, and Morgan Wallen all performed there over the summer.
Tele2 Arena will be renamed 3Arena effective Jan. 1, 2025, in a deal struck with mobile network Three. Elton John brought his incredible 330-date “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour to the building, July 7-8, 2023, selling 72,300 tickets at a $7,635,445 gross, as reported to Pollstar. “To now continue to develop and expand that business in the European region is something I’m really looking forward to,” said Sjölund.
