Aarhus Festuge (Aarhus Festival) is a 10-day arts and culture

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

in the city of Aarhus, Denmark. It takes place every year in late August to early September (in weeks 35-36). The first Aarhus Festival happened in 1965, after being established the year before as an experiment to bring together and activate the city’s institutions and associations. The overarching purpose was to present Aarhus’ cultural profile, based on the political idea that art, culture and community are essential for a flourishing city. It was considered a great success, and the festival has been an annual tradition ever since. From 1965, Aarhus Festuge has evolved to become more than just a local event. Nowadays, it has a more international focus, and over the years, artists from all across the world has been part of the festivities.

Description

With local and international artists, and events for both children, young people, and adults, Aarhus Festival has grown to encompass around 1000 events in 10 days. That makes it one of the largest cultural events in Northern Europe. The happenings spans a broad range of cultural genres, such as music, theatre, architecture, food, art installations, talks, and dancing, as well as general entertainment. About one third of the events are planned and arranged by the Festival's head office, while the remaining two thirds are organised by private or external actors in the city. Thereby, Aarhus Festival creates a platform for creativity, development and cooperation between the city’s cultural actors, businesses, restaurants, venues, and associations.

History

Aarhus Festuge was established in 1964, debuted in September 1965, and has since then become one of the largest themed festivals in Northern Europe. In 2014, Aarhus Festival took place from 29 August to 7 September. It was the festivals' 50th anniversary, and was marked with the theme ‘Same but different’.

Themes

Aarhus Festival always revolves around an overall theme, which is now used for three-year periods. The theme serves as a guideline and an inspiration for the events, and is visible in many aspects of the festival. The annual poster, which is created by a different artist each year, is the visual representation of the theme. For 2023-2025, the theme is ‘Mind the Gap’. 1965 Festugeplakat af Westberg

Gallery

Aarhus Festuge.jpg, The city-scape is temporarily refurnished. Here, trees on central town squares. Arhus Festuge, Docklands.jpg, Sandy beaches on the inner harbour front. Aarhus Streetart Festival 2016.jpg, Visual art (Aarhus Streetart Festival) Kæmpekanin.JPG, Sculptural decorations around town. Lys og lyd installation 02.jpg, Interactive light and sound installation. Cirkus Krone (2012-09-07).jpg, Circus in the town center. Monsieur Culbuto (Byparken) 02.jpg, Street performances Food Festival 2014.JPG, Several festivals within the festival. Scene from Food Festival. Inversus Festival.jpg, Inversus Festival, a music festival geared towards young people primarily. Bunker (Understrøm).jpg, Several music scenes are set up around town. Understrøm Festival.

Nearby cities

Similar cultural festivals are simultaneously held in some nearby cities. Randers Ugen has been celebrated in

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and th ...

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...

and

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...

and surrounding smaller towns, collectively known as the Triangle Region.

References

External links

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