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Rakettnatt Festival strives for gender balance in artist bookings, nearing equal male and female representation

Tuesday 16th 2024 on 19:08 in  
Norway

Rakettnatt Festival in Tromsø has set a goal to book as many female artists as male artists. This year, they have come quite close to achieving this. Out of the ten music festivals in Norway, 30% of the booked artists are women, and 60% are men. The remaining percentage represents groups made up of multiple genders and solo artists who use gender-neutral pronouns.

The local headliner for Rakettnatt this year is Dagny, and three out of the five headliners are women, including Gabrielle and Zara Larsson. The festival aims to create a balanced program based on their own music profile and what they believe their audience will enjoy.

However, Rakettnatt’s festival head states that they do not book based on gender. They strive to book good artists and work towards a balanced program. Other festivals, such as Øyafestivalen, Bylarm, and Jugendfest, also have a high percentage of female artists. If you include duos or groups where multiple genders are represented, regardless of the number, Buktafestivalen, Øyafestivalen, and Bylarm have over 50% female representation.

In 2023 and 2022, a quarter of the artists were women. It is believed that the increase in female representation on the stage is a natural and organic process. Festivals that have succeeded in achieving this balance also report success with their audience turnout.

Despite this progress, some believe more can be done. At the 2022 Opptur Festival in Bodø, only one of the artists was a woman. The leader of Norwegian Cultural Organizers believes there is a need for more female role models.

The discussion on gender balance at music festivals continues to be important. Although it is not feasible to maintain a strict 50/50 gender distribution due to commercial appeal and musical compositions, a minimum female representation should be maintained.