Theme of the year: Movement

Have a look at this year's festival program!Music thrives on movement. In a world with severe restrictions on travel, the local scenes suffer, development slows down and boredom sets in. Our own Norwegian scene needs outside impulses. Homegrown artists need global audiences to aspire to. Ever since Oslo World was founded, the goal has been to share musical expressions from all around the world with our audience. This year we will highlight this goal through a diverse concert program spanning the globe, but also in the seminar program, taking on the challenges facing the concert industry in a world still deeply affected by the pandemic.

Music can inspire and provide the soundtrack to political movements. Oslo World wants to seek out the crossroads in our culture where music meets activism. We want to highlight the way the culture shapes, and is shaped by, collective movements. We also want to emphasize how culture creates different spaces where individuals and minority groups find room for free expression.

Last, but not least - music makes us move. Last year, Oslo World was among the first festivals in Norway to let people leave their seats and move during concerts. It was a memorable experience for sure, but we’re hungry for more. In 2022, we really want to put dancing, and intimate musical experiences, front and center. Since 2020, we have learned the hard way that being able to move freely in rooms full of people sharing our excitement, is an essential human urge. This fall, we will strive to make good, safe and ecstatic music experiences at Oslos best venues.

As an integral part of this year's theme, Oslo World has established the Movement network, along with festivals in Bergen, Tromsø, Skien and Molde. The goal is to present music from all across the world in and around week 44 every year. This is a way to ensure that Norwegian concert culture stays international and progressive in years to come.

Have a look at this year's festival program!