Palmesus (Kristiansand, Norway) 2027

Palmesus returns to Bystranda in central Kristiansand on 25 and 26 June 2027, the beach festival that bills itself as the largest in Scandinavia. The site is the city beach itself, a few minutes’ walk from Kristiansand’s main square, and the festival draws close to 40,000 people across the weekend to a stretch of sand in the middle of a Norwegian town.

Founded in 2009, the event has grown from a local beach party into a two day festival with a programme that mixes international dance acts with Norwegian pop and hip hop. Recent bills have carried Alesso, Boris Brejcha, Broiler, Macklemore, Marcus and Martinus, Madcon and Arif, alongside a long run of domestic names and a set of after beach parties around the city that extend the weekend past the main site.

Early bird tickets for 2027 sold out before the lineup was published, which is normal for the event. Kristiansand sits at the southern tip of Norway, reachable by train in roughly four and a half hours from Oslo, by road along the E18, and by ferry from Hirtshals in Denmark, which brings a steady Danish contingent each year. The beach location means the festival runs through Nordic midsummer daylight that barely fades. Other Nordic dates are collected on our music festival page.