Helsinki as an event partner

Major events and partnership events

Are you planning to organise a major event in Helsinki? Do you want the City of Helsinki as an event partner? Start by filling in the electronic event partnership application form. Our event advisors process the form and decide on how to proceed in the matter.

Partnership events can recur annually or be individual one-off events, for instance, large sports events, arena concerts or major events awarded after an international bidding process. Our partnership events also include congresses and B2B events.

Apply event partnership (application in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)

You can submit an application form at any time you wish. Please determine the following information before filling in the form:

• event date
• budget and grants
• cooperation partners
• event venue
• sustainability and accessibility of the event
• traffic and infra
• estimated number of visitors

The application criteria include, for example, the event’s impact on the vitality, well-being and attractiveness of the City, compliance with the City’s strategic focus areas and economic impact.

Examples of our partnership events:

• Flow
• Helsinki Cup
• Helsinki Design Week
• Helsinki Running Day
• Pride
• SLUSH
• Tuska

If you need help completing the electronic application, please contact Event Advisor Heidi Forss-Anila (heidi.forss-anila@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)).

Congress applications
Helsinki Partners assists organisers of international congresses free of charge with things like the application process, selection of meeting rooms and suitable partners and service providers, and pre-marketing of the congress.

Helsinki has performed well in the competition for international congresses. Helsinki’s strengths as a congress city include a reliable reputation, high level of service, good connections, safety, top competence and high-quality research in many fields of science.

Helsinki Convention Bureau contact information(Link leads to external service)

Helsinki is the most important event city and the largest organisation in Finland. We are constantly improving our practices to make organising events go even more smoothly.
 
We have workgroups where event advisors from different city divisions and organisations work together to promote eventness and the smooth organisation of events in Helsinki. Some of the groups focus on the development of eventness and strategic guidelines, while others streamline the grass root processes of organising events. The groups agree on things like land use, safety, noise restriction guidelines and event-related traffic arrangements to promote a smooth and open flow of information and ensure compliance with the strategic guidelines.

A light show in the heart of the darkest winter, a surprise art gift in an apartment building courtyard, Helsinki birthday carnival in June and the best canned-herring products selected by the herring jury. These are some examples of experiences produced by the Helsinki Event Foundation.

Launched as a subsidiary organisation to the City of Helsinki in January 2019, Helsinki Event Foundation organises such public City events as Helsinki Festival, Lux Helsinki, Helsinki Day, Helsinki’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, Baltic Herring Market and Helsinki Christmas Market. The foundation also promotes Helsinki’s eventness.

Helsinki Event Foundation(Link leads to external service)

We make use of our highly recognisable visual identity in all Helsinki events. This visual identity includes the Helsinki frame logo, as well as a specific colour palette, font and wave motifs. You can find a comprehensive information package on the visual identity of the Helsinki brand on our Brand.hel.fi webpages. If you have received a grant from the City of Helsinki, please make sure to use the Helsinki logo in your communications on websites, brochures, advertisements and the like.

Brand.hel.fi visual identity guidelines(Link leads to external service)

An important part of the brand is the feeling that Helsinki conveys to different audiences. We want Helsinki to be an attractive, functional and responsible event location where it is easy to participate in events and even organise them yourself at a low threshold in every part of the city.

Helsinki Material Bank offers Helsinki brand-specific images for your events. Be sure to mention the photographer’s name and source when publishing an image.

Images and videos from MyHelsinki Material Bank(Link leads to external service)

You can apply for grants awarded by the Culture and Leisure Division for the organisation of events.  The grants come at no cost and are intended to cover the costs of the event or other separately specified purposes.

The grants are divided into four categories: culture, sports, youth activities and the promotion of hobby and physical activities. You can apply for a grant from the body appropriate to your event.

Learn more about the grants and how to apply for them:

Grants – City of Helsinki(Link leads to external service)