Bergen has 5 twin cities. The Nordic cities Gothenburg, Aarhus and Turku/Åbo and Newcastle, UK and Seattle, US.
The idea of twin cities arose after World War II as a peacekeeping initiative. The original idea was that cooperation would enable cities to get to know each other and forge personal ties that would lead to greater interpersonal understanding. A twin city agreement is the formalisation of a long-term binding cooperation, which should preferably involve most municipal sectors as well as both political and administrative levels. The most common areas for cooperation have been culture, sport, school exchanges and sharing administrative and political experience in a range of areas. In recent years, it has also become increasingly common to cooperate on projects.
Bergen was assigned the Nordic twin cities Gothenburg, Århus and Turku/Åbo in 1946 as part of a national strategy to strengthen cooperation between the Nordic countries after World War II.
The twinning with Newcastle is based on the more than 100-year-old shipping service between Bergen and Newcastle, and the commercial interests associated with it. Bergen has sent a Christmas tree to Newcastle every year since 1949, and it has become tradition that the mayor of Bergen takes part in the lighting ceremony.
The twin city connection between Bergen and Seattle was established in 1967 as a direct result of the airline company SAS starting a service between the cities in autumn 1966. The cooperation between Seattle and Bergen has largely consisted of cultural exchange, as well as exchange schemes for students and teachers.