What is Aarhus Festival?
Founded in 1965 and one of Northern Europe's oldest cultural festivals. Up to one million visitors over a 10-day period and more than 1,000 unique events.
The establishment of Aarhus Festival
Aarhus Festival was first held in 1965 and after being established in 1964 as an experiment to activate the city's institutions and associations. The aim was to present the city's cultural profile and Aarhus' great potential to the outside world. The great success has meant that Aarhus Festival has since become an annual tradition. The festival was created out of a strong political conviction that art and culture and community make the city flourish.
Festival Week today
Now 60 years later, it is still our belief and ambition to fascinate, inspire and challenge through art and culture. Since then, however, Festugen has also evolved from being a local event, as it still is today, to also include an international focus, and artists from all over the world have travelled to Aarhus over the years.
The official opening of Aarhus Festival is always the last Friday in August (a good rule of thumb!). The festival lasts for 10 days. In 2025, Aarhus Festival will be held from 29 August to 7 September.
Every three years, Aarhus Festival introduces a new theme to frame and inspire the many events and activities.
The theme for the period 2023-2025 is Mind the Gap, which is about our shared awareness of change and differences in society. In connection with the Festival's 60th anniversary in 2025, there is also a sub-theme entitled Aarhus Festival - No Age.Read more about the theme.
Aarhus Festival stands out as a major cultural event by presenting an entire city in a joint festive movement.
Now in its 60th year, the Festival can, like few other cultural events, boast of being a facilitator for new urban initiatives, new sustainable ideas and new change-creating meetings between culture, business and the rest of society.
The short answer: THE AARHUSIANS!
If you need a more detailed description, we can tell you that:
- Festugen is a self-owned commercial foundation.
- The mayor of Aarhus at any given time is the chairman of the Festugen board.
- Half of the finances come from sponsors and foundations (the rest comes from state and municipal grants).
- Rikke Øxner is the director of Aarhus Festival and is in charge of the secretariat, which works throughout the year with curating, planning, funding and marketing the Festival.
- The secretariat organises approximately 1/3 of the events that make up the Aarhus Festival programme. The other 2/3 are organised by other players in the city.
