In Oslo we are all minorities. Only 40% of the inhabitants were born here. The lacking manifestation of strong forces makes it difficult to talk about a dominant culture. In Bergen the tedious middle classes cast their shadow over the city culture. The little subculture that remains must cling to the Opera or the Garage. In Oslo the middle classes surface only once a year, when their offspring hold a ball at the Grand Hotel. Not even the businessmen managed to put a distinctive mark on the city. While they take over entire city blocks in other countries, here they hang out at Lipp and are less noticeable than the Blitzers (young leftist group that have been occupying houses in Oslo from the early '80-es). There are no big corporations that privatise city areas such as Canary Wharf in London. One of the reasons why the business classes are so invisible is the dominating role of the public sector. Norway is extremely centralised and almost the entire public administration works out of Oslo. The presence of numerous educational institutions such as the Oslo University, the Oslo College and the Trade and Commerce College, etc, makes the student culture an important feature, although not as important as in Trondheim. Many foreign universities and similar institutes so large that they form cities of their own.
Unlike many other cities Oslo in not characterised by ghetto-like areas, with the poorer ethnic minorities living in the inner city and the upper classes living in the white ghettos of the suburbs. With the development of Aker Brygge began the emigration of the rich from the allergy-infested grassy areas of the outer city to the inner city core. Downtown Oslo has a percentage of ethnic minorities. They represent about 30% of the population, which is not far from the same number downtown London. In the lower school years the percentage is closer to 50%, which makes the multicultural aspect even stronger where there is no mainstream culture.
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