Audiovisual media made its entrance into Finnish living rooms in the early 1980s and 1990s, when the sky channels began broadcasting on cable TV networks. The American Music Television started broadcasting in 1981, and MTV Europe started broadcasting in 1987. MTV was a huge success with its programming consisting of music videos. The main purpose of a music video is to promote music, and the most popular artists do so in a format that is of high artistic quality.

In Finland, too, the rise of the media sector was noted and educational institutions in the sector were being established at an accelerating pace. The handicrafts and art industry institution Pikisaaren käsi- ja taideteollisuusoppilaitos (Pikisaari School of Crafts and Applied Arts) started video teaching in 1992. Since the early days of film, music and film have gone hand in hand. Short films accompanied by music were produced already in 1926. The rhythm of music is a good guideline for understanding visual cuts, so making a music video is an excellent project in video education. In Pikisaari, they started making them in numbers.

In 1993, Pikisaari students in the field of video organised an event called Okto-rock to showcase their first music videos, and the first official Oulu Music Video Festival was held the following year. OMVF is the world’s oldest music video festival, showcasing hundreds of professional and amateur projects every year. As time has gone on, the festival has evolved into a multi-format urban festival for moving pictures, with plenty of accompanying events.

The Air Guitar World Championships, a side event to the Music Video Festival, made headlines in 1996 and was immediately the talk of the international media. Over the years, the competition has developed into its own independent event that also includes ancillary events, such as national qualifying events in nine countries and a black horse qualifier in Oulu. In 2001, the US magazine Time named the Air Guitar World Championships one of the most important events of the year.

The then director of the municipal federation told us that your dreams are built on quicksand. Time magazine listed the Air Guitar World Championships as one of the most important events of the 2000s; the launch of the Euro and the repair of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and whatever else was there, probably some political events, but then the Air Guitar World Championships was one. Before that, the interested media were kind of like special magazines and kind of light-hearted in spirit. After that Time article, we started getting news agencies from all over the world, from Japan to New York. – Taina Ronkainen, Event Specialist.

Today, air guitar players from all over the world gather in Oulu, and a written book and a documentary have been made about the competition. Air guitar grand champion Justin “Nordic Thunder” Howard is the ambassador for the competition.

Whatever you got going on that look like a freaking crazy wacky doodle, whatever the hell you’re doing. It’s a chance to step into to love. – Justin ”Nordic Thunder” Howard

From the very beginning, the aim of the Air Guitar World Championships has been to promote world peace. Make air, not war.

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Sources:

Ronkainen, Taina, Event Specialist. Oulu. Interview. 13.3.2024, interviewer Esa Nissi.

Howard, Justin, Air Guitar Champion. Telephone interview. 22.3.2024, interviewer Esa Nissi.

Wikipedia. 2023. https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV_(televisiokanava)

Oulu Music Video Festival. 2023. https://www.omvf.net

Yle. 2023. https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2015/08/28/me-haluttiin-saada-kaupunki-haltuun-oulun-musiikkivideofestivaalien-tarina

Air Guitar World Championships. 2023. https://airguitarworldchampionships.com

Wikipedia. 2023. https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilmakitaransoiton_MM-kisat

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Photo: Roosa-Maria Kauppilan / Oulu August Festival. Air Guitar World Championships 2022.

Video: Air Guitar World Championships, 2023 After Movie, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YdczaWuL3Q