In August, Oulu comes alive in a way that attracts locals and visitors from far and wide. The Oulu Festival is a multifaceted urban festival that brings together different cultural disciplines: music, spoken word, contemporary circus, video art and community experiences. The 2025 Festival will take place from 31 July to 29 August, with a programme that ranges from city centre parks to small villages and unexpected venues such as boatyards and dry docks.
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The whole city as a stage: the main festivals of the Oulu Festival Weeks
The Oulu Festival includes six main festivals, which together form a unique cultural month. During August, the city will experience jazz, chamber music, spoken word, media art, contemporary circus and free urban events - in surprising and intimate settings.
Elojazz (31.7.-2.8.) brings top international and Finnish jazz and rhythm music artists to the stage at the Hupisaari Summer Theatre.
Oulunsalo Soi (6-10 August) offers chamber music in unexpected spaces, such as village dryers and boat sheds - an intimate and artful acoustic atmosphere in the midst of nature and everyday life.
Oulu Music Festival (13-17 August) is a festival for lovers of the word arts. Poetry, literature and debate are experienced in low-threshold club nights that bring life to the cultural life of the city centre.
Oulu Night of the Arts (14 August) will spread across the city's streets and squares for one intense evening and night of free performances, exhibitions and performance art that uses urban space in new ways.
Oulu Music Video Festival (21-24 August) will combine moving image and sound, featuring internationally award-winning music videos and media art. The theme for 2025 is hyper-reality, and screenings are held in several cultural venues.
Flow Productions contemporary circus show A Study of Losses (26-29 August) blurs the boundaries between magic, dance and visual art - a unique combination of manipulation, movement and music.
Oulu Festival culminates Choir Day Thursday 29 August. Choirs of different ages and styles will take to the stage of the City Hall to showcase Oulu's choir culture - together, polyphonically and with heart. Choir Day is also part of the Night of the Arts.
Air Guitar World Championships - Air to music at Rotuaar
One of the undisputed highlights of the Oulu Festival is Air Guitar World Championships, which will take place at Rotuaar on Friday 22 August 2025 from 20-22.It's not just a competition, but a full-scale show where participants from around the world take over the stage with pure imagination, charisma and the deep spirit of rock.
No real guitar is needed - just a burning passion for the music and a sense of abandon that gets the crowd cheering. The event is free of charge and without age limit, culminating in an impressive concert where the audience is invited to join in playing an imaginary guitar for world peace.
This year's competitors on stage will be around from 15 countries, including the reigning world champion Zachary "Ichabod Fame" Knowles. The previous evening's event Dark Horses qualification offers the chance to go straight to the final stage and surprise the audience and the judges.
Rotuaari Square offers accessible viewing areas, but it is advisable to arrive well in advance to avoid congestion. There will also be live broadcast, age-appropriate side events and surprise performances - all part of this unique event where air becomes music.
More informationWhy is Oulu Festival unique?
The strength of the Oulu Festival lies not only in the wide and high-quality programme, but also in the fact that most of the events are free of charge and accessible. Particular attention is paid to accessibility and to ensuring that everyone can participate in culture in their own way. There is specific programming for families, and local actors are also showcased through arts, food and community projects.
The whole month of August is full of life in Oulu - and the Oulu Festival is the heart of it. Whether you're into jazz, performance art, literature, experimental music or just relaxing urban culture, the Oulu Festival and World Air Guitar Championships offer something unforgettable. This is a city where freedom is in the air - and with an imaginary guitar you can achieve a world championship.
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