An event commemorating the centennial of the arrival of the Norge airship in Oslo was held on April 14, 2026, on Ekeberg Hill.
On April 10, 1926, the aircraft left Ciampino Airport—where it had been designed and built under the supervision of General Umberto Nobile—beginning the long journey that would take it over the North Pole. The Norge’s flight represents one of the most extraordinary feats in the history of polar exploration, accomplished by an Italian-Norwegian crew led by the famous Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile, with the support of American financier Lincoln Ellsworth.
The journey included several intermediate stops for refueling and technical checks. After days of navigation and a stop in Pulham, United Kingdom, on April 14, 1926, the Norge stopped on Ekeberg hill, overlooking Oslo, where thousands of people gathered to witness the airship’s arrival. The Norge’s docking at Ekeberg, which offered an open and elevated space, was accomplished with a delicate maneuver, masterfully guided by Nobile’s crew: after losing altitude, the aircraft was anchored to a specially constructed tower to allow the airship to be anchored using ropes thrown to a team of men on the ground. The stop in Oslo had significant symbolic and political significance, as well as widespread international resonance thanks in part to its participation in Amundsen’s mission. From Ekeberg, the Norge then continued on to the Svalbard Islands, the starting point of the historic crossing of the North Pole.
The commemorative event opened with greetings from representatives of the sponsoring organizations Landsforbundet for Motorhistoriske Kjøretøy (National Association for Historic Motor Vehicles) and Bekkelagshøgda Lokalhistoriske Forening (Bekkelagshøgda Local History Association), followed by remarks from Norwegian Secretary of State for Transport Cecilie Knibe Kroglund, Italian Ambassador to Norway Stefano Nicoletti, and a Counsellor from the U.S. Embassy, Graham Harlow. Following the presentations, Secretary of State Kroglund laid a wreath at the commemorative plaque on the hill, while the national anthems played, and a parade of vintage airplanes took to the skies.
The event was attended by a large audience, including the heirs of several crew members, students from several primary schools, and representatives of the Polar Exploration Museum (FRAM), the Akershus County Museums, the Cultural Heritage Office, the Pilots’ Association, the National Aircraft Protection Association, and the Norwegian Air Sports Association.
Ambassador Nicoletti, commenting on this important celebratory moment, highlighted how “the Norge airship expedition was not only a feat of great technical complexity, but also an extraordinary story of international collaboration between Italy, Norway, and the United States, which effectively ushered in Italy’s great era in the Arctic region, a period that continues to this day. The Embassy is therefore pleased to participate and actively contribute to the calendar of initiatives aimed at commemorating the centenary of the Norge’s Arctic flight, which we inaugurated on March 19th with a high-level conference organized in collaboration with the FRAM Museum. The conference continues today in Ekeberg and will conclude on May 11th in the Svalbard Islands, in Ny-Ålesund, home to the CNR polar research station, with the ceremony celebrating the airship’s departure from King’s Bay for the North Pole, the final stage of the journey that began in Ciampino and led, on May 12th, 1926, to the first manned overflight. of the North Pole.”
