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Bergen International Festival

The Bergen International Festival, established in 1953, is the flagship of music and theatre festivals in the Nordic countries and a hub for the Northern European art scene. The annual festival gives audiences hundreds of live, exploratory events on dozens of stages indoors and out. The 2023 edition takes place between 24 May and 7 June.

The festival will open with the event What Is the City but the People?: 150 people from Bergen will parade down a 60m catwalk backed by live music, photographic and literary work in order to showcase the story, sentiments and soul of the city Bergen. The music is created by Gisle Martens Meyer, and Finn Tokvam, Thor Brødreskift and Linda Børnes provide text, images and content. The following ceremony will contain Bergen's anthem, Nystemten and the Norwegian national anthem Ja, vi elsker.

Within the event Thinking beyond the canon the music critic and author Alex Ross will focus on the classical canon, its heavy emphasis on a relatively small number of famous names and whether the canon of classical music can in future be expanded to include a more diverse group of composers. The event Accessibility in the cultural field will highlicht questions about making the art and culture field accessible, an expert panel will advise on how everyone can contribute to a diverse and equal cultural life. This year's Artist-in-residence and soprano Lise Davidsen will have a talk with the author and lecturer Sverre Gunnar Haga on 25 May.

Find the whole festival program here.

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