The Crown Prince to Bergen International Festival 2020

– It is a great pleasure to welcome Crown Prince Haakon back to Bergen and the Bergen International Festival. The Royal House's presence on the opening day will set a magnificent tone for 15 days of music, performing arts and cultural expression, and it means a lot to us, says festival director Anders Beyer. 

The Crown Prince is passionate about music and visited the Bergen International Festival in 2014 where he officially opened the festival. During his opening speech the Crown Prince shared his personal music experiences in Bergen during the 90’s, and talked about the democratizing power of art: 

– Art asks questions and helps us discover new opportunities. A rich cultural life with many different artistic expressions is a prerequisite for a living democracy. 

The opening ceremony 2020 will take place on the lawn at Bergenhus Fortress on Wednesday 20 May. The festival opening performance will be in Grieghallen and is a new production of Richard Strauss' opera Salome, presented in cooperation with Bergen National Opera and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. 

This year's Bergen International Festival will take place from 20 May to 03 June and will offer a wide variety of experiences in music, theatre, dance and much more. 

The Bergen International Festival is under the patronage of HM King Harald V of Norway.