YLITYS

YLITYS is a unique outdoor spectacle created for Oulu's year as European Capital of Culture 2026. The show takes place in Oulu, Finland, spanning the Merikoski rapids along the Alakanava channel on 22 August 2026. Entry is free and open to everyone, as part of the official Oulu2026 programme.

At the heart of the performance is tightwire walking: two Finnish female artists will cross the river on a wire approximately 60 metres long, eight metres below them.

The production is rooted in a spirit of community and collective experience. YLITYS is not a solo feat but a shared ritual in which performers, audience, and city come together in a single, unified moment. The show is deeply site-specific,  inseparable from Oulu's landscape, history, and people and pays tribute to the local heritage of the Tuira rapids while looking forward with a sense of hope and renewal.

The work also carries a strong message around equality and vulnerability. Tightwire walking has historically been associated with masculine heroism and daring, but YLITYS approaches the crossing from the opposite direction: as an ode to accepting vulnerability and being held up by others. A joint tightwire performance by two women, high above water, has never been seen before in Finland, making this a historic premiere.

YLITYS - 22 August 2026, Merikoski, Oulu. Free entry. Part of the

official Oulu2026 programme.

Produced by Lumo Company.