The Helsinki City Event Office organises the City’s events and develops services targeted to event organisers. Helsinki wants be an events city in its individual and relaxed style. Co-operation makes Helsinki into a more pleasant and attractive city for residents, businesses, employees and tourists.

Mission Statement

The Event Office develops Helsinki into an attractive venue of events in accordance with the City’s Business Promotion Strategy. The Office organises Helsinki events in Finland and abroad, markets Helsinki as the venue of major international events and develops services targeted to event organisers. The Office started its operations in January 2008.

Current

Swing into the New Year with family-oriented festivities at Senate Square

The New Year’s Eve celebrations at Senate Square on 31 December 2009 will feature brilliant performers on the stage and a fun atmosphere for all. Throughout the evening Senate Square and the University of Helsinki’s Festival Hall will offer family members of all ages lots of interesting things to watch and listen to. 

Helsinki and TV viewers across Finland will greet the New Year with exciting festivities that begin at 11pm and that will be broadcast live by YLE TV1. Even better, Yles program is broadcasted live in internet and it is seen all around the world in http://areena.yle.fi/live. Actor-singers Mikko Leppilampi and Maria Ylipää will perform new arrangements of classic swing music. The two popular actors, who attended theatre academy together, will perform together after one year apart. The event will be hosted by reporter Ella Kanninen. 

Stadi Rock New Year concert at 10pm will be a great warm up for the live show. Local band Wedding Crashers, winners of this year’s “Ääni ja Vimma” battle of the bands, will take to the stage at 10pm. The talented trio includes Oskari Halsti, Esa and Petri Pottonen, rising stars in the rock scene. The audience will be further entertained by stand-up comedian Pekka Jalava, who performs right before the live broadcast begins at 11pm.

Read the press release about New Year at Senate Square here.

City of Helsinki Appointed World Design Capital 2012

The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) announced today November 25th, that the appointment of World Design Capital™ (WDC) 2012 has been conferred to the City of Helsinki (Finland). Announced during the closing ceremony of the Icsid World Design Congress in Singapore, Helsinki will move on to be the third city to hold the biennial designation in 2012.
Open Helsinki
World Design Capital website

See and experience Helsinki in a new light – the Season of Light in January

The Season of Light will illuminate Helsinki at the start of January. Light installations will create an exciting atmosphere in what will be the brightest urban event in the Baltic region.

The Season of Light represents a bright turning point in the midst of the holiday season and the darkest time of the year. The event aims to offer residents and visitors positive, refreshing and surprising experiences. Senate Square – the historic architectural centre of the nation’s capital – and Parliament House opposite to Finlandia Park will serve as the stages for the light installations at the start of January. Read more...
Season of Light

Finnish Design in Madrid      
   
Helsinki Madrid FinDesign, the main exhibition for Finnish Design Month in Madrid, will take place 4 November 2009 – 10 January 2010 at the Contemporary Art Center in Matadero. The varied and interactive exhibition will have over several hundred products from Finnish companies and designers representing many different design areas and viewpoints. The exhibition, which will be open until January, is a result of collaborative work by Finns and Spaniards from Helsinki Design Week and the Association of Designers in Madrid DIMAD. This cultural export project, which is supported by the Ministry of Education, is the year's most significant cultural effort. Read more... 

European Athletics has awarded the 2012 European Athletics Championships to the city of Helsinki

The European Athletics Council made the unanimous decision Monday afternoon after the Finnish Athletics Federation and City of Helsinki presented their candidacy to host the 21st edition of the event.

European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz said, "We are very pleased to confirm that Helsinki will be the hosts of the European Athletics Championships in 2012. Athletics is a hugely popular sport in Finland and today we have been assured that we can look forward to a fantastic event.

European Athletics has set a deadline of 15 December for an agreement to be reached on certain television production matters. Helsinki hosted the championships in 1971 and 1994. The 2012 championships, scheduled for 27 June to 1 July, will be held without the Marathon and Race Walk events. Read more...

The Tall Ships' Races 2013 will come to Helsinki
Four ports within the Baltic Sea, in Denmark, Finland, Latvia and Poland, have been selected to host The Tall Ships Races 2013, race organisers Sail Training International have just announced. Read more...

Rare Picasso exhibition at Ateneum at the end of summer
The Kalevala exhibition celebrating the 160th anniversary of the publication of the Finnish national epic continues until 9 August at the Ateneum Art Museum. The exhibition presents interpretations of the Kalevala by leading Finnish artists from the 1850s to the present day, including paintings, sculptures, prints and photography.

The Kalevala exhibition will be followed by a unique exhibition of the works of Pablo Picasso beginning on 18 September. Helsinki is the only Scandinavian city that will host this major Picasso exhibition. The exhibition is part of the arts year 2009 programme of Helsinki and the metropolitan region. The theme year encompasses the exhibition projects of seven major art museums that have been compiled by the HelsinkiArt.fi network. Read more...

Forthcoming in Autumn!

Lord Mayor's Independence Day Reception to 4th grade Helsinki schoolchildren will be organised due to the influenza (H1N1) situation on 5.3.2010 and not on December 3rd.
Seurasaari Christmas Path opening on Dec 13

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Contact information

Event Office
P.O.Box 20, 00099
City of Helsinki
Tel + 358 9 310 2505
Fax + 358 9 310 36254
eventoffice@hel.fi