Sarpsborg

About Sarpsborg

Sarpsborg is the administrative centre of the municipality of Østfold, Norway. Together with Fredrikstad, Sarpsborg forms the fifth largest urban area in Norway. As of 1 January 2010, the population of Sarpsborg reached 52,159.

Borregaard organization, which specializes in bio-refinery, has historically been the most important industry in the city, and remains so today. The city is also the home for Borg Bryggerier, part of the Hansa Borg Bryggerier, Norway's second largest brewery group.

In the 1960s, Sarpsborg was famous for its football team, Sarpsborg FK. However, the former is now known for its highly successful ice hockey team, Sparta Warriors. In football, Sarpsborg 08 FF currently plays in the highest national league. Sarpsborg 08 FF has a women's football team that was promoted to the top national women's division in 2011, the same year the club's under-19 girls team reached the Junior Cup Final.  Sarpsborg is also famous as the home of two floorball teams, Sarpsborg IBK and Greåker IBK.

The Twinning

The Twinning between Sarpsborg and Bethlehem has been a fruitful, consistent and productive bond, bringing together coordination across a range of activities.

In April 1999, students from Bethlehem University visited Sarpsborg and there have been several mutual tourist events. Partners involved in cultural and educational exchange have included many organizations, such as Bethlehem Peace Center, Arab Women’s Union, Bethlehem Academy of Music, ICB, The Syrian Orthodox Church and Dar Al Kalima School.

In addition to regular annual contributions for the Bethlehem Christmas market, there have been many generous financial contributions from the people and municipality of Sarpsborg to Bethlehem Municipality. These have included:

Land School donation of 20,000kr to the House of Hope in October 1999
A donation of 20,000kr from the Norwegian National Post Office and 79,177kr from citizens in Sarpsborg and the Municipality, for disabled children in the Deheshe Refugee Camp
A donation of 6000kr in May 2001 for students at Dar Al Kalima School

In October 2005, Three Women Speak, a group consisting of one Jewish woman from Jerusalem, one Muslim woman from Ramallah and one Christian woman from Bethlehem, held speeches in Sarpsborg about the consequences of the Israeli occupation. In December 2007, a delegation of 29 people from Sarpsborg visited Bethlehem to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Twinning; among them were musicians who entertained people in Bethlehem for seven days. In addition to two chefs who served Norwegian food.

There have also been many cultural exchanges between the two municipalities, such as a visit by nine dancers and one leader from Dalal Center of Culture and Art, who performed at the Olavsdagene festival in Sarpsborg. In December 2008, a delegation of 25 people from Sarpsborg joined the Bethlehem Christmas market, selling products from Norway and arranging a workshop for children making Norwegian Christmas trimmings.

There have also been several exchanges and visits in the field of education and youth exchange, such as a visit to Sarpsborg by Bishara Awad, leader of Bethlehem Bible College, in December 2010.

In 2015, a delegation from Bethlehem Municipality visited the city of Sarpsborg, comprising two members of the municipal council, Lawyer Rock Rock, and Mrs. Hayat Nawawrah, in addition to the General Director, Mr. Anton Morcos, aiming at strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation.

Due to the importance of the sports sector to the city of Sarpsborg, in 2016, a group of Bethlehmite children from the organization “Children without Borders” was invited by Sarpsborg Municipality to participate in the football league during the celebration of the city’s 1000-year jubilee under the patronage of King Harald V of Norway. The Mayor of Bethlehem, Ms. Vera Baboun, also participated in this occasion where a pillar in the same shape and materials used in those of the Church of the Nativity was inaugurated in Sarpsborg.