Performing arts - thisisFINLAND

Finnish lightscapes: Festivals light up the night in Finland

Every winter, Finnish cities shine with light festivals showcasing works by both Finnish and international artists. You can see what they’re all about in our video.

Business & innovation Music

Music and memory: A Finnish rocker teams up with a neuroscientist

Musician and songwriter Heikki Salo collaborates with Teppo Särkämö of the University of Helsinki on an unusual project to help people recovering from strokes.

Arts & culture Music

Passing the baton: 3 young star conductors from Finland

A fresh generation of youthful conductors from Finland is wowing audiences and orchestras around the world. Each of them has an individual approach and a love of contemporary music.

1970

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

Arts & culture Technology

Becoming Alan Wake: The Finnish face of a world-famous video game

When Ilkka Villi arrives at the office in the morning, he promptly suits up in a full-body spandex outfit and gets to work pretending to be an action hero.

Arts & culture Festivals

Pop, rap, techno and yoik: Festival in the far north of Finland spotlights Sámi music, culture and languages

The annual festival Ijahis Idja (Nightless Night) in the very northern town of Inari showcases modern and traditional music by Sámi Indigenous people. We talk with several performers about their music and heritage.

53.2 per 100,000 people

Most heavy metal bands per capita in the world

Source: Business Insider

Arts & culture Webpick

Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen to receive 2024 Polar Music Prize

Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen will be awarded the 2024 Polar Music Prize on May 21 in Stockholm, Sweden. The second recipient this year is long-time music-industry mainstay Nile Rodgers.

Arts & culture Circus

Finland’s first circus professor unites many art forms under a big tent

Live video, virtual reality, archery: Finnish circus is going in directions you probably never imagined as a kid. And now circus art has a professor, too.

Arts & culture Film

In northern Finland, three unconventional Sámi artists talk about culture and craft

A documentary directed by Auri Ahola traces the career trajectories of three unusual Sámi artists as they discuss their connections to Sámi culture and the landscape of the far north. The film is embedded in our article for you to watch.

292 votes

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