Øya festival, the secret gem of Europe
Norway, that Scandinavian country encompassing mountains, glaciers and deep coastal fjords. Land of Vikings, green urban spaces and museums. A country with lots of money, but also ethics and firm values. A country committed to education and culture. Every Summer since 2014 Oslo’s charming Tøyenparken holds Øya festival which is quietly giving the world more than one lesson on how to organize a festival since its first edition in 1999.
Perhaps you don't know Øya festival but it has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Year after year the festival announces a lineup that carefully combines international stars mixed with local well-known and up-coming artists. In this last edition the international artist representation was headed by The Cure, Tame Impala, Robyn, Blood Orange, Parcels or James Blake.
But despite being a great and fun festival located in one of the most vibrant, evolving and undiscovered European capitals, Øya is much more than the music as its also an example of sustainability, a balanced lineup between national and international bands, talent support and gender equality.
More than a decade ago, the festival set the goal of turning into one of the world’s greenest events, which for them meant finding sustainable solutions for waste, food, transportation, energy and the things we buy (from toilet paper to power grids. They wanted Øya to contribute to a sustainable future) and work towards a festival that is renewable, plant based and circular.
And it seems like the achievements are many. Let's see some facts and figures of main Øya ́s sustainability efforts:
The festival has been run on renewable energy since 2009.
All food served at the festival is 100% organic, and almost 40% of the 100.000 portions of food sold is meat-free.
All food packaging is compostable and all drinking beverages are reusable cups. This means since 2016, Øya has cut the use of plastic with 60%!
All waste is hand sorted in 15 different fractions and over 60% of the waste is reused for new products.
98% of all the festival attendees arrive by walking, biking or using public transportation.
And last but not least. This year much has been talked about gender equality, especially since Primavera Sound announced a 50/50 gender balance for this years lineup and some other festivals signed the Keychange campaign to reach gender equal lineups for 2022. But you know what? Øya has been doing that since the edition of 2017.
Next edition of Øya festival will take place in Oslo on August 2020. Check Øya´s festival website to discover more.
Cover photograph by Pål Bellis
