Culture - thisisFINLAND

Finland’s film and TV industry is thriving and finding new audiences

The Finnish film and TV sector is reaching new viewers, picking up awards and offering an excellent base for international collaboration, writes Hanna Vuorinen, head of Film in Finland.

Arts & culture Music

Finnish folk musicians lead listeners in exciting new directions

Finnish folk sounds are grabbing additional audiences with edgy new music, thanks to artists such as Pekko Käppi and Vilma Jää, who combine contemporary styles and technology with age-old traditions and instruments. We talk with them about their musical paths.

Arts & culture Festivals

Sustainable sustenance: As Helsinki’s Flow Fest returns, food venders feature menus without meat

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, Flow came back in August 2022 with two things its many fans have come to expect: an outstanding lineup of major artists and an emphasis on sustainability that extends all the way to the food venders.

Restaurant Day

A Finnish invention allowing anyone to set up a restaurant for a day

Life & society Culture

Explore Finland online: Sit back and enjoy the show

Here are options from all over Finland for seeing world-class art, architecture and performances without leaving home. Sometimes restrictions, cost or sheer distance can keep you from making a trip to see a show or an exhibition.

Life & society People

Some extraordinary Finnish people you should know about (yes, they’re all women)

In honour of not only International Women’s Day (March 8), but every other day of the year, we bring you a list of remarkable Finnish women, past and present: artists, sports stars, musicians, politicians, writers and more.

Number of Unesco World Heritage sites in Finland

Source: Unesco

Life & society Sauna

Unesco highlights the intangible but very real spirit of Finnish sauna culture

“Sauna culture in Finland” is on the Unesco list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. What does that mean, and what does the sauna represent to Finnish people?

Arts & culture Equality

Tom of Finland and IDAHOTB both continue to contribute to pride and acceptance

May 8 is the birthday of Tom of Finland (1920–91), often called Finland’s most famous artist globally. Shortly after that anniversary, on May 17, the annual International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) takes place.

Life & society Society

From good to “goodest”: Finland tops the Good Country Index

Finland is number one in the newest Good Country Index, which seeks to measure “what each country on earth contributes to the good of humanity.” We talk to the index’s creator, Simon Anholt, about what it means to be “goodest.”

292 votes

Amount of votes Finland got when winning the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest