Torgallmenningen = Festival Square for three years – at least!

The Festival Square (Festallmenningen in Norwegian) started in 2022 with a playground, concerts, shows, family performances, debates and installations as part of the Bergen International Festival's 70th-anniversary celebrations. A number of Norwegian and international artists and collaborators were behind the many artistic experiences at Torgallmenningen, which was remodelled and made greener for the occasion.

The free events attracted more than 30,000 visits last year and are planned to continue until 2025.

Festival director Lars Petter Hagen views the new outdoor venue as the beating heart of the festival.

'The Bergen International Festival is for everyone, and the Festival Square is perhaps the best example of this. It is open, accessible, free, has an abundance of artistic expressions for all age groups, and is right in the middle of Bergen,' he says.

Greener solutions

The entire programme for the Festival Square 2023 will be launched later this year. There will, among other things, be daytime and evening events, concerts, playgrounds and pop-ups from the Australian contemporary circus company Cirka.

The city venue is being developed by Vill Mer in close collaboration with the festival. Reuse, multi-use, accessibility and open solutions are important keywords. The seating furniture, made by Signo Dokken last year, has been on loan to the Bergen Food Festival and now returns to the Bergen International Festival, and a collaboration with Stend school of agriculture brings more plants into the urban space.

'Through the Festival Square, we wish to create a lush meeting place and a place to share experiences with others,' says Hagen.

Crucial to what the audience can be offered

Grieg Foundation has supported the Bergen International Festival since its establishment in 2002 and participated in creating the Festival Square in 2022. The new agreement comprises a total of NOK 9 million spread over three years and is one of the largest collaboration agreements in the festival’s history.

Hagen underlines that this financial support is decisive.

'Having a solid, multi-year agreement in place means we have opportunities to think ahead and invest time and resources in a project that we believe can have great, long-term value for cultural life, the city and the Bergen International Festival. With a decrease in funding from Arts Council Norway and the termination of the Norwegian state’s gift enhancement scheme, such financial agreements are crucial to what the festival can offer to the public,' says the festival director.

Elna-Kathrine Grieg, chair of the board of Grieg Foundation is proud of making the Festival Square possible for the next three years. 

'Grieg Foundation wants to contribute to Bergen being a vibrant cultural city for everyone. In the past years, our support to the Bergen International Festival has gone towards free events and family programme outdoors. In a time where many things in society are uncertain, it's extra important to focus on music and cultural experiences which are open to all. The Festival Square brings the Bergen International Festival out to the whole city's population and to all travellers to Bergen. We believe that the Festival Square will make the Festival an even larger event for the population with more things happening and great, joint experiences in the heart of our fine city.'

Read more about the 2022 Festival Square.