Being the largest city in North Norway, Troms� is a cultural centre for its region. It gained some international attention when it on 11 June 2005 hosted one of six 46664 concerts, designed to put work concerning HIV/AIDS on the international agenda. The concert was promoted by Nelson Mandela, whose prison number provided the arrangement's name, and featured international and local artists.
Many cultural activities take place in Kulturhuset (English: lit. the culture house), including concerts by Troms� Symphony Orchestra and plays by Troms�'s professional theater troupe,H�logaland Teater. The new theater building was opened in November 2005. The city contains several museums. The largest are the Northern Norwegian Art Gallery (Nordnorsk Kunst museum) and the Troms� Gallery of Contemporary Art (Troms� Kunstforening).
The Troms� techno scene is the origin of many of Norway's most important artists in electronic music, and Troms� was a leading city at the early stages of the house and technoscene in Norway from the last part of the 1980s. The internationally recognized duo R�yksopp and the ambient electronic musician Geir Jennsen, known as Biosphere, are the most famous exports.
The record label Beatservice Records and the Insomnia Festival makes Troms� still leading in the country as of the development and promotion of the genre.
The local newspapers are Bladet Troms� and Nordlys.
Both the Troms� International Film Festival and Nordlysfestivalen (lit. the Aurora Festival), a classical music festival, are arranged in January. The end of that month is marked by the Day of the Sun (Soldagen), when the sun finally appearing above the horizon after the Polar Night is celebrated, mainly by children. The International Day of the Sami People is celebrated at the University of Troms� and the city hall on 6 February every year. Troms�'s Latin American Festival, No Siesta Fiesta, is held at the end of February. It started in 2007 and
