The Bergen International Festival to China

I’m thrilled that five concerts filmed during the 2020 Bergen International Festival will be available to stream via the Chinese media company Tencent this spring. 

The first concert will be available to stream on Tencent’s platform on 5 March, and a new concert will be released every week until 27 March. The concerts will be available in China for a maximum of 60 days. 

In 2020, after all physical cultural events in Norway were cancelled due to the pandemic, we created a new, digital Festival programme. As a result, we were able to reach a broader international audience, and the value of this can be great for Norwegian artists in the long run. But we have yet to reach one of the world’s largest markets – China – and that’s why we have created this pilot project.

This spring, Chinese audiences can get to know Norwegian artists such as pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, singer Einar Selvik, violinist Eldbj?rg Hemsing, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic, violinist Henning Kraggerud, pianist Christian Ihle Hadland and singer Marja Mortensson through five concerts from the 2020 Bergen International Festival. 

For the project, the Bergen International Festival has partnered with the Chinese marketing agency Hermark Culture and Tencent Art Channel. Tencent plays a leading role in platforms for online entertainment in China. The pilot is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Music Norway and the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing. 

?In the current situation, when international travel to cultural experiences is very difficult, it is great that digital Bergen International Festival concerts are made available to stream for a Chinese audience. Thus we can still present Norwegian music and culture in China in a good manner,? says Signe Brudeset, Norway’s ambassador to China. 

From our Chinese collaborators, we experience a great interest and a will to transform the digital audience into paying customers. The last year has shown us that the cultural scene needs more business models, and the Bergen International Festival wishes to test new methods.