Mr. Christopher Toh. Photo: MediaCorp Press Ltd.In his article featured in the Today newspaper on September 2nd, Mr. Toh described the music, the people, the facilities and the spirit of the festival, and concluded that “if this all seems to be a pretty picture, it’s because it is”. Hopefully Mr. Toh’s article will entice curious and music-loving Singaporeans to head for Norway for next year’s festival season.
Electropop band Casiokids, experimental rock band Motorpsyco, singer and songwriters Ingrid Olava and Lucy Swann were some of the Norwegian acts to grace the stage. In addition, international acts such as M.I.A, Iggy Pop, Air and Robyn got the audience dancing.
The Øya Festival has been an annual event in Oslo since 1999, and it continues to grow in size and popularity each year. This year’s edition featured around two hundred Norwegian and international bands from almost all genres and was visited by more than ten thousand fans. Since Øya is an outdoor festival in the middle of the city, the fans could enjoy the sunshine and cool off in the rain and then later proceed to clubs around the city for the late-night festival gigs.
While Singapore is used to hosting big concerts and music festivals, Mr. Toh points out that there is a thing or two to be learnt from the Øya festival. For instance, there is a strong focus on the environmental sustainability of the festival as well as its accessibility for families with small children. In other words, people of all ages can enjoy the festivities with a green conscience. According to our man on the ground, the festival was one of the best-run he had ever been to, and -if we may add- hopefully one of the most enjoyable as well.
Øya festival logo. Photo: Øyafestivalen If you’re up for a truly Norwegian festival experience, make sure to get a hold of tickets for the Øya festival 2011. Check out the festival’s website (in English) for more information.