Highlights at the Riddu Riđđu Festival, Norway – by Kate Lynch
Since I started working for Highlights in 2018, I’ve enjoyed some very special moments. Along with attending the most beautiful and inspiring events in village halls, I’ve been to brilliant conferences, attended Edinburgh Fringe, enjoyed folk festivals and travelled to Canada for showcase events.
But July 2025 really has been a highlight (no pun intended). At the end of June I received an invitation to join the international delegate programme at Riddu Riđđu, an annual indigenous festival in the Norwegian part of Sápmi (Sami indigenous territory). Two weeks later I was on my way to Tromsø, in the Arctic Circle, and then onto Kåfjord. Riddu Riđđu means ‘little storm by the coast’ and the festival was first held in 1991 by Sámi youth with the objective of reclaiming their identity after 150 years of assimilation politics. Now it is Europe’s largest indigenous festival and a celebration of Sámi culture, welcoming visitors from across the world. The Sámi are the only recognised indigenous people in Europe, with roots going back thousands of years. Traditionally many Sámi people are reindeer herders, with fishing and hunters integral to the community – a reflection of the landscape in which they live – and they have their own language, culture and lifestyle.
As international delegates, we were warmly welcomed by Festival Director Sajje Solbakk and her father, Sea Sámi and one of the original founders of Riddu Riđđu, Geir Tommy Pedersen. During the 3 days we enjoyed coffee and conversation in a traditional lavvu (tent), an intimate concert from Sámi artist Kajso Balto on a converted whaling boat, authentic local food as well as the wildest (and coldest!) of wild swims in the fjord.
Surrounded by breathtaking landscape and under the midnight sun, the festival programmes indigenous music, theatre, storytelling, films, art exhibitions and crafting. From traditional Sámi joik to Greenlandic reggae, from protest performance The Arctic is not for sale! to an engaging programme of activities for children. Each year, the festival spotlights a ‘Northern People of the Year’ – in 2025, this is the Nêhiyawak, also known as the Cree, with artist Aysanabee taking the Friday evening headline slot. Away from the music and workshops, seminars were held on the Sámi parliamentary elections taking place this Autumn – a reminder that Riddu Riđđu continues to play a vital political role for the Sámi community. This is a community which has its roots in traditions which feel a million miles away from my life in the UK – but it’s also a community right at the forefront of modern day challenges – with climate change and geo-politics threatening its very existence. And it is the strength of community that I keep coming back to as I reflect on the time I spent at Riddu Riđđu.
Here at Highlights – and across the rural touring network – we understand the power of bringing communities together. We know the value of arts and culture in our rural communities, the conversations it can spark and the impact it can leave behind. I spent three days welcomed by a community that, three weeks previously, I knew nothing about. I left Tromsø airport enlivened by stories and song. I hope I’ll have the chance to share some of those stories and songs from Sámi artists in seasons to come.
