Festivals - thisisFINLAND

For Finnish Culture Day, six videos transport you to festivals and arts events across Finland

We celebrate Finnish Culture Day, February 28, with six videos that invite you to experience cultural events – mostly music festivals, but we also throw in some dance and architecture.

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.

2005

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

Life & society Education

Annual track event at Olympic Stadium gathers Swedish-speaking kids from all over Finland

At the Relay Carnival, thousands of children wearing their school colours chant and cheer for their classmates to run faster. Brightly dressed cheerleaders with colourful pom-poms compete for attention, contributing to the festive atmosphere.

Arts & culture Festivals

Finland offers a treasure trove of summer events

The Finnish summer is full of art and music festivals, the beauty of nature, and other gems waiting to be discovered.

1970

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

Arts & culture Slideshows

The return of Lux Helsinki reminds viewers of brighter days ahead

Our photo show samples the glow of a festival of open-air light installations that offset the winter darkness in the Finnish capital.

Arts & culture Literature

Finland’s Moomin stories pop up at multilingual Read Hour event in Reykjavík, Iceland

The Finnish initiative Read Hour takes place on UN International Literacy Day. We visit a Read Hour event in Reykjavík, Iceland, where Sophia Jansson, niece of Moomin creator Tove Jansson, talks about the famous characters and reads aloud from one of the stories.

Arts & culture Festivals

How two festivals in Helsinki brought art, music and design to audiences, despite obstacles

Two beloved fixtures on Helsinki’s early autumn calendar – the Helsinki Festival and Helsinki Design Week – shared outdoor exhibitions, pop-up gift concerts and other memorable experiences while respecting pandemic restrictions.