Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival

What Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival does

Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival is a privately organized, nonprofit cultural institution founded in Oslo in 1990 and operating annually each September. It is governed by the Ultimastiftelsen (Ultima Foundation), a council of 18 leading Norwegian cultural organizations including Oslo-Filharmonien, Den Norske Opera & Ballett, BIT20 Ensemble, Cikada, KORK, and Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, which together provide the artistic infrastructure, ensembles, and venues that underpin the festival's programming. Across a 10-day program the festival delivers 50–60+ concerts, installations, dance, theatre, and children's activities spanning contemporary classical, experimental sound art, improvisation, folk, jazz, and noise, with 21–27 world premieres per edition.

The core product is the live festival itself, distributed through the ultima.no website with ticketing provided by Ticketco, Ticketmaster, and venue box offices, plus the year-round Ultima Extra programming layer. A subscription tier, ultiMATE (NOK 400/year), provides 35% discounts on selected events and free access to Ultima Extra, creating a recurring consumer revenue line alongside per-event ticket sales. Operationally the organization runs on a lean staff of approximately seven under Director and Artistic Director Heloisa Amaral, supported by a board chaired by Yngve Slettholm. The technology stack is conventional website tooling: Sanity-hosted website, Plausible Analytics, Meta Pixel, and embedded Mapbox and Crescat integrations.

Revenue is generated through three streams: per-event ticket sales, ultiMATE membership subscriptions, and — most significantly — public and institutional grants from Oslo kommune, Norsk kulturråd (Arts Council Norway), Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, the European Union via the ULYSSES platform, and Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung. The festival pursues international co-productions with Warsaw Autumn, Wien Modern, Concertgebouw Brugge, and others, and holds Eco-Lighthouse, Accessibility Mark, and Balance Mark certifications supporting its public-funder eligibility.

Name

Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival

Legal name

Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival

Website

https://ultima.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival is a Norwegian nonprofit that organizes an annual ten-day contemporary music festival in Oslo, programming over 50 concerts and installations through a foundation of 18 member cultural organizations and selling tickets and subscriptions to cultural audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contemporary Music Festival / Performing Arts Events

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (711310), Other Performing Arts Companies (711190)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA), Dance Festivals & Dance Series (MPAGADAJ), Community Theatre & Storytelling Festivals (MPAGAEAI)

Keywords

• Contemporary music festival
• Live music events
• Music commissions
• Cultural festival programming
• Performing arts curation

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from ticket sales for individual festival events. Tickets are sold per event through various platforms including Ticketco, Ticketmaster, and venue-specific systems.
2. Membership Fees (ultiMATE): Personal membership costs NOK 400 and is valid for one year from activation. Provides 35% discount on selected festival events, free entry to Ultima Extra events, and other benefits.
3. Government and Foundation Funding: Supported by Oslo kommune, Norsk kulturrådet (Arts Council Norway), Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, EU Creative Europe, and Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival produces and curates an annual multi-venue contemporary music festival in Oslo each September, presenting over 50–60 concerts, dance, theatre, opera, sound installations, and youth activities across more than 20 venues. The festival commissions new works and hosts world premieres, drawing on a collaborative ecosystem of 18 leading Norwegian arts organizations. It also operates the year-round Ultima Extra programme and sells event tickets and an annual ultiMATE membership offering 35% discount on selected events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ultiMATE: The festival's membership and loyalty programme offering 35% discount on selected events, free entry to Ultima Extra events, and other benefits for 400 NOK per year.
• Ultima Extra

Products and services

• Ultima Festival (Annual Edition) Annual ten-day contemporary music festival in Oslo presenting over 50–60 concerts, dance, theatre, opera, sound installations, and activities for children/youth across more than 20 Oslo venues. Tickets sold individually per event (120–890 NOK).
• ultiMATE Membership Programme Annual subscription membership (NOK 400/year) providing 35% discount on selected Ultima festival events, free access to Ultima Extra events, free dress rehearsals, and exclusive festival communications for individual festival-goers and community members.
• Ultima Extra

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 12,000 audience members annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Ultimastiftelsen (18 Member Organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation of 18 major Norwegian cultural organizations including Oslo-filharmonien, Den Norske Opera & Ballett, Det Norske Kammerorkester, Norges Musikkhøgskole, and others. These members form the core collaborative structure of the festival.
• Cikada EnsemblecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization performing multiple commissioned works at festival, including Four Compositions on Francis Alÿs' Children's Games.
• Henie Onstad KunstsentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year collaboration partner in 'Henie Onstad + Ultima: Listening to the Legacy' (2024-2026), revitalizing musical legacy through concerts, commissions, and events.
• Kringkastingsorkestret (KORK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization and performer, contributing to festival programming and commissioned works.
• Concertgebouw BruggemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational co-production partner for festival commissions and artistic collaborations.
• Festival Musica StrasbourgmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational co-production partner for festival commissions.
• GaudeamusmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational co-production partner for contemporary music projects.
• Nadar EnsemblemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelgian ensemble presenting multimedia concert 'Don't Leave the Room' at festival.
• Northern ConnectionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership commissioning new works including 'This Tangle is the Texture of the World' by Holsen and Cooper.
• Warsaw AutumnmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational co-production partner for festival commissions.
• Wien ModernmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational co-production partner for festival commissions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MaerzMusik: Berlin's annual festival for contemporary and experimental music and sound art under Berliner Festspiele. Comparable in genre, international orientation, and commissioning of new works.
• Donaueschinger Musiktage: Germany's historic festival for new music, founded 1921, presenting world premieres of contemporary compositions. Comparable in programming model, genre, and standing as a leading European contemporary music event.
• Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (hcmf//): UK's largest contemporary music festival, presenting world premieres and experimental music each November. Comparable in genre focus, commission-led programming, and tier-one international positioning among European contemporary music events.
• Gaudeamus: Dutch contemporary music organization and festival presenting new works by young composers. Direct co-production partner of Ultima and comparable in commissioning model and European contemporary music focus.
• Warsaw Autumn: Poland's flagship international contemporary music festival, presenting world premieres and new commissions each September. Closely aligned with Ultima in programming model, international co-production structure, and public-funding dependence.
• November Music: Dutch contemporary music festival presenting new compositions, multimedia works, and experimental sound art. Comparable in scale, programming philosophy, and focus on European contemporary music.
• Wien Modern: Vienna's annual contemporary music festival, founded 1988, focused on new and experimental music with international co-productions. Directly comparable in genre, format, scale, and co-production partnership with Ultima.
• Festival Musica Strasbourg: Strasbourg's annual contemporary music festival co-producing new works with European partners including Ultima. Comparable in scale, contemporary-music focus, and EU-funded international co-production model.
• Time of Music: Finnish contemporary chamber music festival held biennially in Viitasaari. Comparable as a Nordic contemporary music festival focused on commissioned works and experimental programming.

Broad incumbents

• Salzburg Festival: Austria's premier summer arts festival spanning opera, drama, and orchestral music. Comparable as a major publicly-supported European arts festival but operates at substantially larger scale and broader programming scope than Ultima.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ultimaoslo
• Instagraminstagram.com/ultimafestivalen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ultima-oslo-contemporary-music-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival