Førde Traditional and World Music Festival
Førde Traditional and World Music Festival is the largest festival in Scandinavia for traditional and world music from all over the world. The festival was established in 1990 and takes place annually from Wednesday to Sunday in the calendar week 27.
The main profile is traditional and contemporary folk music on an acoustic basis. 6000 artists from more than 120 different countries have been presented at the festival for the last 25 years. The festival programme is of great variety, with concerts, workshops, exhibitions, children’s events, dance evenings, etc. Plus different kinds of projects during the festival week and throughout the year.
The main festival arena is the culture centre, “Førdehuset” with four concert halls from 170 to 2500 seats. Festival events also take place in hotels, museums arts centres and outdoor stages in and nearby Førde, altogether about 20 venues.
Unique music in unique surroundings
Førde is a small town on the western coast of Norway, 150 km north of Bergen, surrounded by fjords, mountains, glaciers and waterfalls.
In 2010, 2011 and 2012 the festival has been featured in "Songlines" (the most important international world music magazine) exclusive list of the 25 best international festivals in the world!
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit is the patron of the festival.
The festival is one of the most important festivals in Norway, and has strong financial support from the Norwegian government. The festival plays an important part in the preservation and development of traditional music and dance in Norway.
Førde
Førde is the administrative centre of Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The town is located at the eastern end of the Førdefjorden, at the mouth of the river Jølstra.
The town of Førde is an important commercial, industrial, and government center for the area. The Øyrane area in the center of the town, along the harbor is the regional center for industry.
The town sits at the intersection of the highways Rv.5 and E39. The Rv. 5 highway connects Førde to the nearby town of Florø (via the Naustdal Tunnel) and the E39 highway connects Førde with the cities of Ålesund to the north and Bergen to the south. The old Førde Airport, Øyrane was located in the center of the town at Øyrane, but that airport was only used from 1971 until 1986. The site was not optimal for an airport, and so a new Førde Airport was built about 15 kilometres south of the town in Bringeland in neighboring Sunnfjord municipality.
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