From Oulu2026, with love

Up in the early hours of the night, I set off to join the Bourges 2028 delegation bound for Oulu, Finland. I’ve never travelled this far north before—so close to the Arctic Circle.
The programme is packed, but well structured, allowing us to explore the city on foot, moving between artistic proposals and official engagements.

After the official speeches-held outdoors in the snow, including one by Alexander Stubb, President of Finland (not translated into English!)-we attend the opening of the exhibition Voice of the Land, dedicated to the cultural, aesthetic and spiritual world of the Sámi, the Indigenous people of Lapland.
I am struck by the exhibition design: open, almost pop in its feel, elevating everyday objects, adornments, totems, embroidery, and contemporary fashion pieces inspired by the forms, colours and materials of Sámi culture.

After crossing the large park in the city centre, with its frozen waterways and snow-covered banks, we head to the ECoC Family and European Friends dinner.
It is a rare moment of warmth and emotion: between the main course and dessert, we all join together to sing We Are the Champions by Queen. There, I connect with many European colleagues about their ongoing projects-from Germany, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia and Montenegro.

We then head to the Pavilions for the after-parties: a jazz trumpet concert performed by Oulu’s programme director, followed by a double DJ set in a bar decked out in the colours of Trenčín 2026 and České Budějovice 2028. There, two colleagues from Bourges-Berruyers by adoption-set the karaoke on fire, in front of a Finnish crowd at first stunned… then won over.
Night has long since fallen-almost constantly, in fact-as daylight barely breaks between 12 and 3 pm, while the snow falls without pause.

The next morning, we set off through a city softened by the white of the landscape and the grey of the sky to discover several exhibitions, including the remarkable photographic retrospective Play, set in a former sports shop within a shopping centre.
It explores the many meanings of the verb “to play”, a presence in our lives since childhood. Alongside familiar names, I make some wonderful discoveries-particularly Pelle Cass, whose densely layered images superimpose objects and scenes of play until the human figure almost disappears into a near-surreal visual field.

Speaking of play… after a convivial lunch, it’s time to cross the bridge and head to a small island north of the city, just a short walk from the Baltic Sea.
There, we leave behind the grid of the city centre to follow rows of charming painted wooden houses and wander into the forest, where Toadette, our mascot labrador, makes the most of the snow-trying to sniff out a hibernating rodent.

We carry on into the night, after a stop at the Concert on Ice, heading back to the city centre pavilions.
And what better way to round off the weekend than dancing to ABBA?

A particularly warm weekend, shaped by European exchanges—but above all by laughter and precious moments shared with the Bourges 2028 team.

He He (bye bye in Finnish) !