Festivals - thisisFINLAND

Åland marks centenary of autonomy agreement with a year full of events

The 100-year anniversary of a unique and enduring agreement in the Åland Islands is the occasion for a yearlong programme of special events and celebrations.

Life & society Festivals

Finnish advice: Keep calm and Vappu on, safely

In the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Finland’s wild, carnival-calibre celebration Vappu (known as May Day, Labour Day or Walpurgis in English) calls for unusual amounts of creativity so that people can get together while still staying apart. Vappu – this time it’s virtual.

Arts & culture Music

Music brings together people from all over, at Finland’s Flow Fest

We talk to some of the numerous visitors from abroad at Helsinki’s Flow Festival. What brought them to Flow, and what are their impressions? Also, see our slideshow for a glimpse of festival ambiance.

2005

The year Helsinki Design Week, Scandinavia's biggest design fest, was founded

Arts & culture Festivals

Festivals fill Helsinki in August

People in Finland sure like a good festival, and the Finnish capital conveniently offers a whole bunch of them in August, when the Helsinki Festival and its partner events seem to be everywhere in the city.

Life & society Cuisine

Culinary pleasures across Finland

Food innovators combine Finland’s culinary tradition with an international, urban style. The focus is on local food and ecological values.

1970

The year Ruisrock, Finland's oldest (and Europe's second-oldest) rock fest, was founded

Arts & culture Slideshows

Lux Helsinki fends off the winter darkness

Full of illuminated surprises, the annual Lux Helsinki light festival uses coloured beams to transform some of the city’s best loved buildings and streets in early January. You can see them in our photos without braving the cold.

Business & innovation Sustainability

Finnish events put sustainability at the forefront

Recycling, educating, compensating for emissions, and making sustainable choices attractive: We see how three of Finland’s largest events put their sustainability values into practice.

Life & society Festivals

Finnish families get into the Flow Festival spirit

Family Sunday represents a literal growth area for Helsinki’s renowned Flow Festival. After all, these little kids are the music fans of tomorrow.