August is the month that Norway kicks back into life after the long summer break, and this year there’s the added element of an election campaign. Here’s what’s changing this month.
Although most people will be back at work by the start of August, not everyone will be, so expect the first few weeks to still be slower than usual with the country only hitting its normal pace once children are back in school on the 18th.
Election campaign kicks off
The final spurt of the campaign will begin in earnest when politicians from all parties descend on the city of Arendal for the Arendalsuke political festival on Monday August 11th.
The big event of the festival will be the party leader debate hosted by Norwegian broadcaster NRK on the first day.
There will also be a speech by Norway’s finance minister Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday August 13th.
Early voting begins
From August 11th, those who are eligible to take part in Norway’s general election can vote ahead of time at polling stations in every municipality in the country.
You can find your nearest polling station and when it is open on the election authority’s website here.
All you need to bring is identification, which can be a passport, national ID card, driver’s licenses (including digital ones), or a bank card with a photo.
Advertisement
Fellesferie ‘industrial’ holiday comes to an end
Norway’s official industrial holiday, the so-called fellesferie or “joint holiday” takes place this year between July 7th and July 25th.
From the start of August, the emails will once again start to pile up in your inbox, and you’ll find more and more meetings scheduled each week.
This will also mean that the big cities will once again feel a bit busier as people return to their daily commutes.
Back to school
Children return to school in most municipalities in Norway, including Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim, on Monday, August 18th.
There will then be a short short autumn break between September 29th and October 3rd, with Christmas holidays starting on December 22nd.
Interest rate decision
Norway’s public bank is expected to make a new interest decision on August 14th, following the surprise cut in the interest rate it announced in June.
The current consensus is that the bank will keep its interest rate steady at 4.25 percent with only one out of 24 analysts polled by Reuters expecting a further cut to 4.0 percent at the bank’s August meeting.
Øyafestivalen (Oslo)
Øyafestivalen is Oslo’s biggest musical festival, celebrating its 25th anniversary last year. This year’s festival, held from August 6th to August 9th, is headlined by some of the hottest artists today, such as Chappell Roan, Charli XCX, Queens of the Stone Age, girl in red, and Kneecap.
There are several available ticket options. The weekly pass, which gives you access to the festival in Tøyen Park from Wednesday to Sunday, are already sold out at the time of publication, as are day passes for Wednesday and Thursday. Weekend passes and day passes for Friday and Saturday were still available.
Will Norway escape Trump tariffs?
US President Donald Trump on July 7th sent letters to EU countries warning them that a blanket tariff of 30 percent would be applied to their exports to the US, starting on August 1st. Norway received no such letter.
“There will be no further increase in tariff rates before this deadline,” Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth said.
She admitted, however, that the situation was unclear, so it remains to be seen whether Norway will stay out of the firing line.
Advertisement
Majorstuen and Nationaltheatret stations remain closed
The Majorstuen and Nationaltheatret stations on the Oslo Metro will remain completely shut down until August 10th at the earliest, as the system undergoes its biggest upgrade since the 1970s.
Throughout the summer, Line 2 will only be running between Østerås and Borgen and between the Stortinget and Ellingsrudåsen, while Line 3 will only run between Kolsås and Borgen and between the Stortinget and Mortensrud.
There will be a replacement bus, 2B, shuttling passengers between Borgen and Majorstuen every three minutes throughout this period. Read our guide to the disruption here.
Teachers given new powers to stop bullying
New rules come into force in August empowering school staff to intervene physically to prevent students from psychologically abusing others, or significantly disrupting the education of other students. This abuse could include, for example, threatening behavior, swearing, derogatory comments or filming.
Changed sick leave rules for upper secondary students
The rules on sick leave for children at upper secondary school will also be brought in line with the rules on sick leave in the work place.
Students will be allowed report themselves sick for up to ten percent of the hours in each subject, after which they will need a sick note from a health professional.
New rules allowing criminals to be sentenced to ‘ankle bracelets’
From August 1st, new laws come into force giving courts the power to order criminals to serve their sentences outside prison while being monitored electronically with electronic tags or ankle bracelets.
Advertisement
Bigamy restrictions on family reunification
Parents and siblings will have their right to family reunification with children who have been granted asylum or collective protection in Norway limited if immigration officials judge that issuing a residence permit would lead to the practice of bigamy in Norway.
The new rules, which come into force on August 1st, will also mean that the applicant cannot be either married or planning to live with the child’s other parent if the latter already has a residence permit in Norway.
In such cases, the applicant must apply for family reunification as a spouse or cohabitant.