Blur to headline the 2023 Øya Festival in Oslo
Norway’s Øya Festival has added to the building anticipation for their 2023 event by announcing Blur and Balogun as their headline acts. The festival will run from August 8th to August 12th, 2023.
Making an appearance the following day, on Thursday, 10th August, is the 1990s Britpop band Blur. The group will play at the festival as part of their recently announced return to live shows this year. Their upcoming reunion dates have become some of 2023’s most anticipated gigs, namely, their July appearances at Wembley Stadium, which sold out in a matter of minutes.
Blur’s appearance at Øya will be the iconic London four-piece’s only live show in Norway this year. The group, frontman Damon Albarn and backed by guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree, released their debut album in 1991. 2023 is an important landmark because it marks 35 years since their formation in 1988. Blur’s 2023 reunion arrives after a seven-year hiatus following the tour for their eighth album, The Magic Whip, in 2015.
In addition, headlining the previous day of Øya, on 9th August, is Grammy-nominated Afrobeats trailblazer Wizkid. Wizkid is the project of singer-songwriter Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun. He has become one of Nigeria’s biggest R&B crossover acts, having worked with musicians like Drake, Skepta and Tems. The news follows the November release of his critically acclaimed album More Love Less Ego.
Both acts will join the previously announced headliners in the festival lineup. These include Norwegian pop sensation Sigrid and Swedish singer-songwriter Håkan Hellström. The festival has also announced appearances of the likes of DEVO, Caroline Polachek, Jonas Benyoub and many others. More names and acts who will perform are due to be announced in the lead-up to the event.
The Øya Festival is top of the line in attempts to function as environmentally sustainable as possible, creating a reputation as one of the world’s greenest festivals. It has received the national award for best Eco-Lighthouse in the SMB market in Norway since 2004. The Eco-Lighthouse certification has been Norway’s widest-known environmental management system for 20 years, with nearly 9,000 businesses certified. The Øya site operates free of fossil fuels, running 98% of its power through renewable sources. It continues to hold the Eco-Lighthouse award for its long-standing work within sustainability. The festival is exploring new solutions to make the festival industry more circular and self-sustaining.
Tickets for the 2023 Øya Festival are now available from Ticketmaster, priced at 3,664 NOK/£300 for a week-long pass and 1,304 NOK/£107 for a day ticket.
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