Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival, Mollis 2025
From 29 to 31 August 2025, the canton of Glarus hosted Switzerland's largest sporting event: for the first time in its more than 130-year history, the Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival (ESAF) took place on Glarus soil. The focus was on the temporary Glarnerland Arena in Mollis – built by NUSSLI. With 56,500 seats, it was one of the largest temporary stadiums in the world.
An arena grows in just nine weeks
Precise planning, meticulous logistics and a perfectly coordinated construction process were crucial to the realisation of an arena of this size. Within just nine weeks, the hexagonal arena was built with a circumference of 850 metres, a diameter of 250 metres and a roof height of 17.5 metres. 3,000 tonnes of grandstand material and around 300,000 construction elements were used. The seats were divided into covered and uncovered seating, standing room and traditional lawn seating. The NUSSLI core team of ten specialists coordinated the construction and was supported by up to 130 skilled workers – supplemented by the Swiss Army and civil defence.
NUSSLI and the ESAF – a long-standing tradition
With the Glarnerland Arena, NUSSLI continued its long history with the Swiss Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival. Since 1961, the NUSSLI Group has been building arenas for the ESAF – from the first with 25,000 seats in Zug to the 23rd arena with 56,500 seats in Mollis. For NUSSLI, the ESAF is more than just a project: it is a piece of company history. Over six decades, the technical, logistical and conceptual skills have grown along with the increasing demands.
Coronation under unique circumstances
Armon Orlik became Swiss wrestling champion at the 2025 ESAF in Mollis. He won the title in a unique way: after a draw in the final round between Samuel Giger and Werner Schlegel, he prevailed thanks to a victory in the eighth round with the maximum score – the first champion ever not to compete in the final round.