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Local Norway
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Norway
Everything that changes in Norway in July 2025
Norway goes on holiday Norway's official industrial holiday, the so-called fellesferie or "joint holiday" takes place this year between July 7th and July 25th. These are the weeks you can expect your normally busy city neighbourhood to empty out, offices, shops, and some restaurants to close or limit their hours, and trains to be replaced by buses on some commuting routes. The fellesferie goes back to Norway's industrial past when factories opted to cease production completely with all workers holidaying at the same time. You might think those days are long gone, but good luck getting hold of any of your Norwegian business contacts during this period. Early voting begins ahead of September 5th election From July 1st, early voting, or tidligstemming , opens in every municipality for those who cannot vote during the normal advance voting period or on election day. To vote as early as July 1st, you need to contact the municipality where you intend to vote, explaining why you will not be able to vote in the advance voting ( forhåndsstemming) period between August 11th and election day on September 5th. Overseas voters or those living on the Svalbard Archipelago can also submit early votes from July 1st. While the main election campaign will not hit full speed until the end of the fellesferie, you can expect Norway's political parties to be increasingly active. Advertisement Summer festivals July brings the peak of Norway's busy festival season, with the Stavernfestivalen taking place in Larvik, Palmesus in Kristiansand, Slottsfjell in Tønsberg, the Molde International Jazz Festival in Molde, and Buktafestivalen just outside Oslo. In Oslo, the SALT art, music and sauna centre on the docks will be hosting the Bysommar programme of live music throughout July. Trondheim hosts its own Olavsfest from July 28th to August 3rd in and around the Nidaros Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace. This year a large herd of animals made from recycled materials will invade the city centre fleeing the effects of climate change. Advertisement 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 bring you up from Åndalsnes to the Trollstigen plateau, is scheduled to reopen again on July 14th. Disruptions to rail, road and metro A major upgrade to Majorstuen metro station in Oslo will bring major disruptions to the capital's transport network throughout the month. Between June 23rd and July 4th, trains will not stop at Majorstuen, with Line 2 and Line 3 both stopping at Borgen station, and Lines 1, 4 and 5 passing through Majorstuen without stopping. More substantial closures are planned for the peak summer period between July 5th and August 10th, when both Majorstuen and Nationaltheatret stations will be completely shut down. Norway's rail operator Bane Nor is taking advantage of the summer drop in commuter traffic to carry out essential track maintenance, leading to rail replacement buses on many commuter routes into Oslo and elsewhere. Norway's state-owned rail company, Vy, has also reduced the number of departures on many popular routes due to summer staff shortages. Read our article here for a full breakdown of the transport disruption. Norway marks 14 years since the Utøya massacre Norway will commemorate the 14th anniversary of the brutal twin terror attack carried out on July 22nd by the far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik. Breivik set a bomb off in Oslo's government quarter and then headed to a holiday camp affiliated with the Labour Party youth wing, leaving 77 people dead. A permanent memorial has been erected on the island of Utøya, where Breivik carried out the shooting. The country is currently deciding between a set of proposals for a similar permanent memorial at the site of the attack on the government quarter in Oslo. Advertisement New laws New laws which come into force on July 1st include a ban on anonymous and foreign political donations, limits to profit-making at private kindergartens, a cut to energy taxes, and a ban on 'secret bids' for properties. You can find a full list of new laws coming into force in our article here .
Local Norway
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Norway
Trollstigen and pre-election buzz: What changes in Norway this summer?
Parliament goes into recess and election campaign enters final spurt 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 Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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.
Local Norway
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Local Norway
Eight music festivals you shouldn't miss in Norway this summer
OverOslo OverOslo kicks of the festival season in Norway's capital, drawing thousands to its spectacular location at Scene Grefsenkollen, a stage on a hill 377 metres above the city. The festival, which has been held annually since 2011, will this year see M2M, the pop duo featuring Marion Ravn and Marit Larsen, reunite for their first full concert in Norway following a 22-year hiatus. It will also feature disco legends Nile Rodgers & CHIC, the rock icon Bryan Adams. Lars Vaular, Norway's hip and rap legend will be performing as will the relative newcomer Cezinando. The OverOslo festival is a relative newcomer to Oslo's festival schedule. Photo: VisitOSLO / Hedda Jerpåsen Tons of Rock Tons of Rock is Norway's biggest hard rock and metal festival, with 150,000 rock fans descending on the Ekebergsletta park in 2024. This year's festival , held from June 25th to June 28th, is headlined by the US heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold and the Norwegian alternative rock band Kaizers Orchestra. Then there are two veterans from the 1990s, the British indie band Muse, and the US rock band Green Day, and the heavy metal legends Megadeth and Machine Head. Stavernfestivalen (Stavern, Larvik Municipality) Stavernfestivalen is an annual music festival that takes place in the small town of Stavern in Larvik Municipality at the Larvik Golf Arena. It has been running strong for more than 20 years. The festival is being held between July 3rd and July 5th this year, drawing tens of thousands of revellers. The lineup for 2025 is heavily slanted towards hip-hop and EDM, with the headline acts including Gabrielle, G-Eazy, the US superstar DJ Steve Aoki, the Norwegian hiphop duo Arif & Stig, the Swedish DJ Axwell, Norwegian hip hop group Roc Boyz, and the US rapper Swae Lee. Remember that you'll need to show ID before entering and that the festival has strict age requirement rules in place - both are pretty common for most major festivals in Norway. Palmesus Palmesus bills itself as Northern Europe's biggest beach party, attracting more than 20,000 people every year to Bystranda beach, outside of Kristiansand. This year's festival takes place between July 4th and July 5th. Headliners include the Norwegian DJ Kygo, the Australian music producer Fisher, the English electronics duo Chase & Status, and the English grime legend Stormzy. Advertisement Slottsfjell (Tønsberg) Slottsfjell is one of Norway's most popular rock and pop music festivals. It takes place in Tønsberg in eastern Norway and has been a hit with audiences since its launch in 2003. The festival is well-known for booking a broad program of artists, and over the years, it has hosted international superstars such as Kendrick Lamar, Imagine Dragons, Ellie Goulding, Mac Miller, and The 1975, as well as most of the more famous Norwegian artists. Slottsfjell had to go on a four-year hiatus from 2018 to 2021, but was relaunched in 2022 with an updated concept. The 2025 edition of Slottsfjell will take place from July 10th to July 11th, with the main headliners all Scandinavian artists. This year's program and line-up includes the Canadian music producer Kaytranada, the Russian superstar DJ Nina Kraviz, and the veteran Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp. Other high profile acts include the South African pop star Tyla, the Swedish hip hop group HOV1, and the Norwegian hip hop group Undergrunn. Advertisement Molde International Jazz Festival (Molde, Møre og Romsdal County) The Molde International Jazz Festival, also known as Moldejazz, is among the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It takes place every year in July – this year, the festival will run from July 14th to 19th – and it has been bringing joy to jazz lovers in Norway since 1961. During the festival, visitors can enjoy around 120 concerts, and roughly 22,000 tickets are sold each year. There are often around 500 artists playing at Moldejazz, and some 600 volunteers support the festival staff and ensure the event runs smoothly. If you're into jazz and staying in Norway for the summer, going to Moldejazz is a must. This year's festival features Jason Moran, one of the world's top jazz pianists; multiple Grammy-winning vocalist Dianne Reeves; drummer Makaya McCraven; and Grammy-nominated guitarist Julian Lage. Buktafestivalen (Tromsø) Bukta Tromsø Open Air Festival – also known as Buktafestivalen – is an open-air pop and rock festival that has been taking place in Tromsø annually since 2004. This year, it will run from July 18th to 19th. From Northern Norwegian punk, Danish metal, and British indie rock to Norwegian Americana and Austrian psych music – Bukta caters to many different musical tastes and is among the premier summer events of its kind in northern Norway. Headliners this year include Band of Horses, and Eagles of Death Metal, the Norwegian singer Gabrielle and the Swedish garage rock band The Hellacopters. Advertisement Øyafestivalen (Oslo) Øyafestivalen is Oslo's biggest musical festival, celebrating its 25th anniversary last year. This year's festival is headlined by some of the hottest artists today, such as Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Queens of the Stone Age, girl in red, and Kneecap. There are several available ticket options. The weekly pass, which gives you access to the festival in Tøyen Park from Wednesday to Sunday, was already sold out at the start of June. Weekend passes for Saturday and Sunday were still available, as were day passes for all days.
