When I think of IKEA, I think of those meatballs they serve in their canteens. I think of one-way systems all over the place, lugging heavy boxes all the way out to the car and cursing endlessly as I try to decipher the assembly instructions.

One thing that definitely doesn’t come to mind is festivals. Yet the Swedish store has decided it’s going to hold one later this month. But curiously, the festival isn’t going to take place in one of their stores – anyone hoping to see the likes of Kaytranada DJing next to a bunch of filing cabinets and easy to assemble wardrobes will sadly have to hold that thought in their imaginations.

The event is actually taking place over 100 homes and can be watched by either going to an IKEA store or by simply watching online. Reading the press material about it, I’m not 100% sure exactly what IKEA are getting at here – but it appears to be to do with the changing ways our homes have been used during the pandemic.

Which, frankly, I can get behind. The idea anyone wants to spend yet more time commuting to an office is a long outdated absurdity…