Øyafestivalen
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Øyafestivalen is an annual Norwegian music festival held in Middelalderparken (lit. the Medieval Park), Oslo. It has grown quickly since its modest start in 1999 with an audience of 1000 people in 1 day, and has now become one of Norway's biggest festivals. Featuring musicians like Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Babyshambles and Franz Ferdinand, the festival draws an audience of approximately 36,000 people. The first two years, the festival was held on the island of Kalvøya, near Sandvika just outside of Oslo (however, contrary to popular belief, it is not the same festival as the old Kalvøyafestivalen, which was also held at Kalvøya). After the two initial years, Øyafestivalen was moved to Middelalderparken, downtown Oslo, making it more of a central festival. The festival lasts for three days in Middelalderparken. These days are preceded by a club night where the festival holds concerts in more or less all of Oslo's central clubs. The festival area in Middelalderparken consists of three main stages (Sjøsiden, Enga, Vika). More than 60 bands played at the festival in 2005, and several Norwegian movies were released to the public audience for the first time.
