The 28th Oulu Music Festival takes place on March 11 - 24. The versatile festival received a grant from the Arts Promotion Centre Taike for their project to improve the concert experience for the hearing impaired.
Oulu Music Festival hosts a variety of concerts for the 28th time at Madetoja hall, Valve hall, City hall, Gallery Harmaja and Vanha Paloasema Bar. This year they can be enjoyed also by audiences who are hard of hearing.
Though people who are losing their hearing can listen to music with the use of a hearing aid, at the moment, the devices don't guarantee an ideal listening experience, because the audio induction loop systems in concert venues are frequently planned or installed insufficiently, or sometimes they are even turned off. Oulu Music Festival is determined to change that, and they promise to provide a functional induction loop system for all of their venues, and draw blueprints of the best hearing sections. They also collaborate with the local associations and sound designers to promote the best practices in concert productions and provide information for consumers about hearing impairment. During the festival they carry out surveys and collect user experiences. Their report will be published in the fall of 2018.