Air Guitar World Championships (AGWC) has developed from being just a Finnish thing into a global “Airness” movement. The message: “Wars would end, climate change would stop and all bad things disappear, if all the people in the world played the air guitar”.

Airientation

Thousands gather on the first day to talk airness and air-artistry. Venues throughout the city stage parties and air-performances, including official ticketed events like the band Airnedette, with their rock musical “We Will Dub You”. Dark Horse qualifying begins on day two with the non-national champ air-guitarist’s round of dark horses contending to clinch a spot in the final at the city-centre’s full-fledged rock-n-roll stage. Of course plenty of side-parties and generous imbibing occur all around Oulu well into the night.

Airs & Outs

AGWC Network comprises 13 countries that send their national champions as prospective air-heroes to Finland as qualified finalists. The pre-registered dark horses, often dozens, must prove air-worthy to get to Oulu and move onto the finals. Once in Finland, and having reached the second-round final, the jury scores participants for originality, absorption into the music, stage presence, technical merit, artistic impression and airness. The finals, or Air Guitar World Championships, is the big day that rocks the people of airness with the pantheon of network champion performances and winning dark horses shredding for gold, and where the hand-made guitar is awarded to the world champ.

Air guitar shredders with invisible instruments rock Finland for world peace!