The Gathering (or "TG" for short) has been arranged since 1992 and has always been a hub for young creative people to battle it out in many types of competitions; demo-coding, music, graphics, animation, gaming and hardware modification, to name a few.
Every year, young and old computer enthusiasts gather to share experiences, meet new friends and have a great time at one of the most unique events of our time – The Gathering.
The Gathering is organized by the non-profit organization KANDU – facebook.com/dataungdom
Hamar Olympic Arena, Hamar, Norway, where it has been held since 1996.
Have a look at this page.
The doors will open at 09:00 on March 23rd 2016. On the final day, March 27th 2016, the network will be shut down at 09:00, the power will be shut off at 10:00, and all participants must leave the arena by 12:00.
To buy a ticket for The Gathering 2016, visit Geekevents.org.
As The Gathering is a very popular event, we have set a limit of one(1) ticket per person. We are sorry about that. You can purchase up to 5 tickets at the same time, but they will all need to be assigned to different people.
Please be nice to your fellow geeks and refund your ticket at Geekevents.org. This is done by accessing your order history. Only the owner of a ticket can ask for a refund, so if your very best friend bought the ticket and has selected you as the ticket user, your friend will have to get the refund and give you your money. This alternative closes on 1st February. We suggest taking a look at our forums, but please be aware - there's a risk within private sales.
In cases where there are very special circumstances that prevents you from going to The Gathering you will have to get individual approval of your refund request. This is done case by case by the Participant Ombudsman. Please send an email to do@gathering.org.
Please note, you will still have to be the owner of said ticket, not just the user of a ticket.
With a regular participant ticket you will get 80 cm width by 60 cm depth of table space. Participants in the creative lounge will get 90 x 90cm.
Build a shelf or buy a pre built one. If you build your own, it may use no more than 80 x 55 cm and has to adhere to our construction rules.
For our participants in the creative lounge, shelves cannot be taller than 1m (the "Billy" shelf sold from IKEA and through Geekevents is OK), and must not require any fastening to the table to be stable. It must stand on its own. Participants in the creative lounge with shelves will be asked to sit nearest the regular participant rows, as not to interrupt the line of sight to the creative stage for the other creative participants.
Yes, you can! This is done in Geekevents starting from February 18, depending on the size of your group. A guide to seating from last year can be found here. The same process will apply to this year's party. Groups of 40+ can start seating on February 18, progressively smaller groups are given access leading up to February 21 when everyone can choose their seats. See this article in Norwegian for all the dates. Note that the times are given in Norwegian local time, CET.
You can only use one(1) Ampere of electricity. Don’t worry,though! Even if your computer is a quad-gpu monster, that’ll be more than enough. However, you can’t bring any water boilers, fridges or similar items. We will supply water boilers and microwave ovens at a designated place in the arena, to cover your needs, that you may use free of charge.
As for keeping you favourite beverage cold, try a cooler bag with cooler bricks or simply place it at the floor, as the concrete can be quite chill.
No, there’s no age limits at The Gathering. However, you have to be able to take care of yourself – and if you are under the age of 16, you’ll have to bring a (link will be supplied closer to the party). It is required by the police and is there for your own safety.
There are areas set aside for sleeping inside the arena and we have heated tents right outside. The holders of all tickets except one day visitation tickets, may use these facilities.
Have a look at our packing list from last year.
Have a look at the openings hours of the closest malls, shops and grocery stores.
Yes, baguettes, burgers and hot dogs can be made gluten free on request.
No. While the arena usually has a gym, we use every last inch of space to make this great event and have had to re-purpose the space.
While we can’t promise that there will be zero thefts, we have arranged The Gathering for over 20 years and in those years we have seen just a few cases of theft. So we consider it a safe and friendly event. When you leave your seat we do advise you bring small valuables like your phone and wallet with you. As always when travelling, make sure you hold a valid travel insurance.
The Gathering has a limit of one seat per participant, which also means that there are some restrictions for the physical size of sound systems. Your system must fit within the table space you have available. It is allowed to bring floor-standing speakers, as long as the “footprint” does not exceed 20x20 cm and they are placed within a reasonable distance from, and facing towards, your seat.
These measurements are to be seen as a guideline. We will not start to measure sound systems that looks "normal”. Do not bring a sound system that looks like you have borrowed it from a concert stage.
We do not want a quiet The Gathering, and encourage you to play music as long as you are seated in the “party zone”. We ask that all participants respect each other, and that you play music for yourself and not for the people sitting on the other side of the hall.
You can park your car at the parking lot connected to the venue, for free.
These vehicles can be parked in the south of the parking lot, in a designated area. Unfortunately, we cannot offer access to electricity.
In the far south, with the camping wagons and motorhomes.