In Sanskrit language, Mela means a meeting place. Mela is rooted in ancient cultural traditions of Søuth-Asia. In its contemporary form, Mela is a festival based on artistic and cultural expressions. Food stalls with information, merchandise and a good atmosphere are also necessary ingredients.

Oslo Mela 2007 takes place from Friday 17th - Sunday 19th August at the City Hall Square. The Festival is organised by the Horisont Foundation. Horisont is an independent institution that seeks to empower minority artists and develop new models for international cultural exchange between Norway and countries in the South.

This year's progamme includes performers from a number of countries like Pakistan, Iran, Vietnam, Somalia, Tanzania and Norway. One of the fundaments of Horisont is to promote art and culture from countries in the South where minorities come from. Last year, Mela attracted a crowd of 300 000 in the course of three days. This makes the Festival one of the biggest in its kind outside the Asian sub-continent.