Trollstigen and pre-election buzz: What changes in Norway this summer?
The Norwegian parliament closes for the summer on June 20th and will not reopen until the start of October.
That doesn't meant that politics closes down, however. This summer will be unusually busy as Norway's parties work up to August, when the campaign for the September 8th general election enters its final stages.
The left-wing bloc led by the Labour Party is currently holding the lead it gained in February when former prime minister Jens Stoltenberg made a surprise return to national politics, taking the post of finance minister.
In the weeks leading up the closure, the parliament has been
rushing through the last bills on the agenda
.
READ ALSO:
Six new laws that need to be passed in Norway before the summer
Summer holidays
The school term in Norway ends on Friday, June 20th, and then kids won't return until a new school year begins on Monday, August 18th.
Employees in Norway have the right to three consecutive weeks of holiday during the period from June 1st to September 30th, with most choosing the last three weeks of July, which is known as the
fellesferie
, or "collective holiday".
Most will use this period to disappear to cabins outside the big cities, meaning you might find the big cities like Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger strangely quiet.
During the
fellesferie,
smaller shops and restaurants often close down in major cities and towns, although the big chains normally stay open.
Summer music festivals
Norway goes all out on its summer festivals. The summer kicks off with
OverOslo
and
Tons of Rock
, both held in Oslo in June.
Then in July, the festival season reaches its busiest period, with the
Stavernfestivalen
,
Palmesus
,
Slottsfjell
,
Molde International Jazz Festival
, and
Buktafestivalen
.
It all then gets rounded off with
Øyafestivalen
, the biggest festival of them all, held from August 6th to August 9th.
READ ALSO:
Eight music festivals you shouldn't miss in Norway this summer
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Pride events
Oslo Pride
will occur between June 20th and June 28th, and the main parade will occur on June 28th. Oslo Pride is the country's largest LGBTQIA+ celebration. The parade will begin in Grønland.
Bergen Pride
will take place between June 13th and June 21st, with a parade and closing concert taking place on the 21st.
Roadworks and rail replacement buses
Both Norway's rail track operator and the country's roads agency take advantage of relatively empty cities and low levels of commuting over the summer to carry out maintenance and renovation projects.
There will be rail replacement buses on several rail lines out of Oslo through much of the summer, and traffic diversions in several places.
Read our breakdown here
.
Trollstigen reopens
The Trollstigen road (meaning "path of the trolls", or "magic path") has been closed since 2024 due to the risk of falling rocks.
The road, famed for the eleven hairpin bends that take you up from Åndalsnes to the Trollstigen plateau, is scheduled to reopen again on July 14th.
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Summer solstice
Saturday, June 21st 2025, will mark the summer solstice in Norway.
In most parts of Norway, you can expect it to remain light hours past midnight. From that day forward, the days in Norway will gradually get shorter until the winter solstice in December.
In Bodø, the midnight sun is visible between June 4th and July 8th.
NEW LAWS
Abortion threshold extended to 18 weeks
On June 1st, Norway extended the threshold at which women can decide to have an abortion from the 12 week of pregnancy to the 18th week. Abortions after this week require the approval of the country's abortion board.
Separate collection of glass and metal waste mandatory
From July 1st, municipalities across Norway will have to collect glass and metal waste separately, as Norway implements the last parts of the EU's Waste Framework Directive.
For those living in major towns and cities, this should not make much difference, as most already collect glass and metal waste separately, but it may mean changes for those living in less densely populated areas
Tax cut should lower power bills
From July 1st, the government is cutting the "electricity fee" or
elavgiften
by 4.4 øre per kWh, a change that it expects will reduce the average households annual spending on power networks by 825 kroner per year.
Together with the so-called Norway Price, the measure is intended to reduce the burden on households from high power prices.
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Stricter rules for estate agents
New rules come into force on July 1st which will tighten the rules for estate agents, among other things prohibiting the practice of secret bids, where estate agents can take bids and keep them secret from other bidders.
The new rules bring in other stricter requirements for brokers, and give the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) greater powers to monitor and enforce compliance with the regulations.
Norway's security police wins power to process public data
Norway's PST security police will from July 1st gain new powers to store, systematise, and analyse publicly available information which it can use to prepare analyses and intelligence assessments on potential national security threats.
The new rules bring in new rules on how such public information should be stored and processed.
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