How do you learn how a festival works? The best way is to be part of one.
On 12–13 March 2026, Norrbottensmusiken, in cooperation with Norrlandsoperan, Vinterfestuka and Kulturcrew, carried out a cross-border young organiser exchange in Narvik, Norway, in connection with the youth festival Rallarrabalder. The activity brought together young organisers from Sweden and Norway for two days of practical learning in a real festival environment.
On 12 March, the day before the festival, participants followed preparations and production work ahead of the event. On 13 March, the festival day itself, they continued on site and gained first-hand insight into how organiser work is carried out in practice during a live festival day.
Rather than taking place in a classroom, the exchange was built around real production situations. Participants followed and reflected on key parts of festival work, including planning, logistics, artist coordination, communication between organisers, technicians and artists, and audience flow.
The Swedish participants were recruited through an open call, including dissemination via KulturCrew, helping make the opportunity accessible to young people interested in concert and festival organising.
An important part of the exchange was that the Swedish acts Deppa, Marlin and The Thrill performed during the festival on 13 March. Their performances were integrated into the activity and gave the organiser group concrete live production situations to observe and discuss, connecting the learning directly to the realities of festival work.
This kind of exchange matters because a strong music scene needs more than artists. It also needs people who can organise concerts, build events and create the structures that make live music possible. By bringing together young organisers across borders, Arctic Pulse helps strengthen the next generation of cultural organisers in the North and lays the groundwork for future collaboration between Sweden and Norway.