Make air not war. This is what they tell you at the Air Guitar World Championships, which have been held every year since 1996 in Oulu in northern Finland, with one year off during the Covid pandemic.
A frenzy of intense, skilful and committed silliness: that is air guitar. Mock not, unless you have seen a talented practitioner like Aapo Rautio, a young Finn, display his abilities close up. I was privileged to see him in action on a recent trip to Oulu towards the end of last year. As the music played his hands flew up and down imaginary guitar strings, forming what looked like chords, while he squatted, leaped and thrust his guitar-hero moves in our faces.
And what on earth was I doing in Oulu, way up north around 60 miles short of the Arctic Circle? Next year Oulu will be one of two European Capitals of Culture (the other is Trenčín in Slovakia), following in the wake of other European cities such as Liverpool in 2008, Marseille in 2013, San Sebastián in 2016 and Timisoara, Romania in 2023. Oulu is getting ready to tell the world more about itself—in a modest, Finnish sort of way, of course.
There is a lot to tell. It is a charming city of about 215,00 people, almost 400 miles north of the capital Helsinki, perched at the edge of the northeastern tip of the Baltic Sea (the gulf of Bothnia). Oulu was once upon a time the world’s biggest exporter of tar, which was slapped on the hulls of ships making world trade, for good or ill, possible. In modern times it was a key technical research centre for Nokia, the formerly dominant mobile phone maker. Like the company, Oulu has reinvented itself, and remains an important tech hub, supported by two leading universities and a vibrant tech scene.
But Finland, like its neighbouring countries, finds itself living in an increasingly tense part of the world. Like next door Sweden, Finland has joined Nato after decades of studied neutrality. Its government recently published information on surviving emergencies, called “Preparing for incidents or crises”. Mysterious (Russian? Chinese?) boats have been severing cables on the bed of the ocean, causing difficulties for several Baltic nations. Finland’s President, Alexander Stubb, told the FT at the recent Munich Security Conference that Europe is facing a crucial moment which will shape its future.
As one newly concerned citizen told me in Oulu: “Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine we used to be 85 per cent against joining Nato; afterwards it was more like 85 per cent in favour.”
The new tensions have even reached as far as the Air Guitar World Championships. “The Russians don’t enter any more,” one fan told me, sadly. In 2015 the title was won by a Russian, Kirill “Your Daddy” Blumenkrants. He won again in the summer of 2022—but after the Russian invasion, he rebranded as Kirill “Guitarantula” Blumenkrants, trained in Paris and took part under the French flag.
Finland has long handled its challenging neighbours with care. It was part of the kingdom of Sweden until 1809, when it was ceded to Russia as the “grand duchy of Finland”. Finland declared independence in 1917, but was invaded by the Soviets in 1939, fighting two brutal wars in two years. After 1945 the country not only remained neutral but adopted an approach labelled “Finlandisation” by observers. This involved treading carefully on the sensitivities of the USSR. Finland grew and prospered, while eventual Soviet decline created much greater breathing space. By 1995 Finland had joined the EU, adopting the euro as its currency in 2002. Nato membership, on the other hand, had been unthinkable until recently.
As Marie Cronqvist, professor of modern history at Linköping University in Sweden, has written: “Finland’s long border with the Soviet Union has long forced it to navigate Russian influence in a different way than its Nordic neighbours, a diplomatic balancing act of a non-aligned country facing an imperialist neighbour.”
Some now suggest that a new Finlandisation will be needed for Ukraine if it is to enjoy independence and freedom over the long term.
With luck none of these darker thoughts will impinge on Oulu’s moment in the spotlight in 2026. It would be quite wrong for them to do so. It is a delightful and enterprising city. The people I met were friendly and spoke perfect English. They pronounced the word “yes” with enthusiasm, making it sound as if it was spelled with three S-es. This is the place that has not only given us the air guitar world championship but also the Screaming Men Choir—Mieskuoro Huutajat—which does exactly what it says on the label.
This is the city which hosts the winter Lumo light festival, featuring artistic installations of light and sound. It boasts the Frozen People arts festival, a kind of Burning Man for the cold north. Oulu is home to the world’s northernmost park run, and is the scene of popular winter cycling.
In 2026 Oulu will be helping to encourage “cultural climate change”, as the city puts it. They will be showing Europe and the rest of the planet the way from their lofty position near the top of the world. They will do so with charm, courtesy and talent.
And, of course, they have given us a mission statement to remember: make air, not war.
Stefan Stern was a guest of European Capital of Culture Oulu2026
