2024-08-17 14:10:00
“I won’t be here, to be honest.” These are the first words of the new promotional video for the Norwegian capital, which he himself published on YouTube a month ago. In less than two minutes, Oslo takes the opposite view of travel and shows its “village” side, its human scale and accessibility.
With this music video entitled “Is it even a city?”, the Oslo tourist office serves us a good dose of self-deprecation to make us change our vision.
We follow a 30-year-old named Halfdan, who shows off the capital without hesitation by listing all his so-called mistakes. It’s easy to get to, not really “exclusive” like a real city should be. We passed in 30 minutes. People bathe in the middle of the city, “it’s disgusting”. “You turn to a crossroad, and lo, there is the Prime Minister, another crossroad, and lo, there is the king.” There are no lines to enter museums, so what’s the point? Especially since Edvard Munch’s The Scream, “it’s not really Mona Lisa”. Sometimes, we even find tables in restaurants without reservation, and without reputation. “What does that mean?”
He concluded: “I think a city should be a little harder to get. Like a good romantic relationship, you know? It shouldn’t be easy.” However, yes, it is easy in Oslo. In any case, this is the message that the tourist office wants to send, going against the grain of many other capitals, which are overwhelmed by the endless streams of tourists. As reported International CourierAugust Jorfald, director of the clip, explains that young people “don’t want tourist trap experiences.” And he added: “Today, tourists expect to be authentic – a word that is not always easy to explain, too.” Maybe because when we try to define it, there is nothing there?
#Oslo #city