Norway: A memorial inaugurated for the 77 victims of the 2011 massacre

Norway unveiled a monumental artwork in Oslo on Sunday in memory of the victims of the July 22, 2011 attack, a few days before the fifteenth anniversary of the massacre perpetrated by Anders Breivik.

Survivors and relatives of the victims gathered on Sunday in Oslo's government district for the inauguration of the memorial named UpholdingThe artwork, by artist Matias Faldbakken, consists of an imposing blue steel structure supporting a twelve-meter-high stone mosaic. It depicts a small shorebird observed on the island of Utøya, along with twigs and reflections in the water.

Faldbakken explained that his work pursued a dual objective: to honor the memory of the victims and to engage the public in an act of democratic resistance against the far-right ideologies that motivated the attack. The names of the 77 victims are engraved on the monument, which is located near the site where the bomb exploded in 2011.

On July 22, 2011, neo-Nazi Anders Breivik first killed eight people with a car bomb in central Oslo, before traveling to the island of Utøya where he murdered 69 more people, mostly teenagers gathered for a youth camp organized by the youth wing of the Norwegian Labour Party. Hundreds more were injured.

“July 22, 2011, was a brutal attack not only against individuals, but also against our democracy,” said Merete Stamneshagen, president of an association supporting victims and survivors. Crown Prince Haakon and several members of the government attended the ceremony. Haakon also visited the new July 22 Center, the national memorial dedicated to the attacks.

Sentenced in 2012 to 21 years in prison, the maximum sentence under Norwegian law but renewable as long as the prisoner is deemed dangerous, Breivik has consistently challenged the conditions of his incarceration. In 2016, he partially won a case alleging violations of his rights, before this ruling was overturned the following year. In 2022, his request for parole was denied, the court finding that he had not changed and still posed a risk to society. In 2024, another lawsuit against the state, concerning his solitary confinement, also ended in failure.