Oslo Events and Festivals

(Oslo, Ostlandet, Norway)

Home to many different special events and Norwegian festivities, the residents of Oslo regularly celebrate their rich heritage with a series of festivals. Each year on May 17th, the city of Oslo celebrates Constitution Day, when crowds of people descend upon the Royal Palace, many of which are dressed in their finery and vibrant costumes.

March may not be the most appealing month to visit Norway, although many do choose to travel here at this time of the year, to watch the participants of the Holmenkollen Ski Festival. Also known as the Finken Cup, this festival has become one of the biggest sporting events in the Oslo area and regularly attracts many Nordic skiers, along with ski jumpers from around the world. Other popular things to do include regular concerts at the Norsk Musikkhogskole, the Spektrum Hall, the Vallehoven Arena, and the Ullevaal Stadium.

Oslo Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• Disney on Ice - mid-January, very much an event for all of the family, with ice skating performed by some of Walt Disney's best loved characters, such as Mickey Mouse. Held at the Oslo Spektrum on Sonja Henies Plass

February

• There are no significant events in Oslo during the month of February

March

• Oslo Kirkemusikkfestival (Church Music Festival) - throughout March, with choir concerts, pipe organists and gospel groups performing at many churches and the city's cathedral
• Lillehammer WinterArts Festival - throughout March, crowds gather to marvel at the natural icy wonders and frozen waterfalls in nearby Lillehammer, close to Oslo
• Biathlon World Cup (BWC) - mid-March, with various European winter sports events culminating at the Holmenkollen Nasjonalanlegg winter sports arena each year with skiing and shooting, and organised by the prestigious International Biathlon Union
• Holmenkollen Ski Festival / Finken Cup - mid-March, crowds gather to watch some of Scandinavia's premier skiers zoom down the city's extremely famous Holmenkollen ski jump and leap into the air

April

• Inferno Festival - early April, Norwegian heavy metal groups play to packed auditoriums at the Rockerfeller Music Hall in what has become Norway's biggest heavy metal festival in existence

May

• Grete Waitz-Lopet - early May, a road race for women athletes of all ages, lasting 5 km / 3 miles
• Norwegian Constitution Day / National Day - mid-May, a celebration of Independence Day in Norway, remembering the historic liberation from Denmark on May 17th, 1814
• Norwegian Military Tattoo - late May, a grand and colourful event at the Oslo Spektrum, with marching brass bands and even gymnastics displays. The Norwegian Military Tattoo is held every other year and is now the country's biggest indoor event

June

• Norwegian Wood - throughout June, a famous Nordic music festival held at the Frognerbadet and known for its celebrity performers and intoxicating atmosphere
• Bislett Games - mid-June, a well-supported athletics event held at the city's Bislett Stadion (Bislett Stadium), featuring all the track and field favourites, which range from long jump and high jump, to steeplechase and hurdles
• Oslo Middelalderfestival - mid-June, this popular medieval folk festival remembers the city's humble origins some 1,000 years ago and offers endless traditional arts and crafts, markets, hearty Norwegian fare and concerts, based around the Stortorget area
• Ta Sjansen - late June, one of the more unusual events in Oslo, where crowds of thousands attend this fun boat event. Those participating race down the Holmenkollen ski jump in their home-made boats, before plunging into the water below

July

• Oslo Grieg Festival - throughout July, a celebration of perhaps the greatest every composer to emerge from Norway, Edvard Grieg, with concerts at the National Gallery
• Norway Cup - July and August, a simply massive week-long soccer championship when children's football teams arrive from all around the world to compete in this event, which has grown to become the largest football tournament in existence

August

• Oslo Kammermusikkfestival (Chamber Music Festival) - mid-August, a definite cultural highlight with chamber music performed by many of Norway's leading musicians at various central venues, such as both the Oslo Concert Hall and the Akershus Fortress itself
• Oslo Jazzfestival - mid-August, an opportunity to enjoy modern jazz at its very best, with around 75 different concerts, many lively performances and audiences of around 18,000 people each year
• Arts and Crafts Fair - late August, the biggest event of its kind in the whole of Norway, taking place on the outskirts of Oslo and in the nearby city of Lillestrom

September

• Ultima - late September to early October, an established modern music festival which started here in the early 1990s and is now attended by almost 20,000 people each year, who come to performances by Norway's Chamber Orchestra, Radio Orchestra and State Opera, and also Oslo's Cathedral Choir and Philharmonic Orchestra
• Oslo Half-Marathon - late September, a central race regularly attracting over 10,000 participants, who start at the Bislett Stadium and run through the central streets around Karl Johans Gate

October

• Oslo Horse Show - mid-October, attracting crowds of equestrian lovers and lasting a total of three days, with everything from horse racing to show jumping

November

• Samler and Antikk Messen - late November, the largest antiques fair of its kind in Oslo, held each autumn at the Norges Varemesse and a chance to pickup some unusual antiques at reasonable prices

December

• Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony - early December, the start of the seasonal Norwegian festivities begins each year at this time, when the enormous Christmas Tree on the University Square (Universitetsplassen) is illuminated, a somewhat chilly outdoor ceremony attended by literally thousands
• Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony - mid-December, a world-famous event held every year on December 10th at the Oslo Town Hall (Radhus), hosted by the Norwegian Nobel Institute
• Christmas at Bogstad - throughout December, a traditional Scandinavian Christmas fair filled with Norwegian handicrafts and located on the outskirts of Oslo, within the Bogstad Gard area