Reciprocal event partnership
Start the application process by filling in the online partnership proposal form and the annex to it. We make use of specialist assessments in our evaluation, and our decision-making is based on an overall assessment. The City’s event specialists will review the application and evaluate it against the City’s partnership criteria. As well as evaluating individual applications, we also compare them with one another. Approval of the application is a prerequisite for further negotiations, but does not yet mean that a partnership agreement has been concluded.
Tip: Familiarise yourself with the evaluation criteria and assess your own project against them as early as the preparation stage.
Please remember to submit your application on time. You must submit your application at least one year before the planned date of your event.
Apply the partnership (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Conference bids
Helsinki Partners assists organisers of international conferences free of charge with the conference bid process; the selection of conference venues, suitable partners and service providers; and the pre-event marketing of the conference, among other things.
Helsinki has fared well in bids to host international conferences. Its strengths as a conference city include the city’s reliable reputation, the high standard of local services, good transport connections, safety, world-class expertise and a high standard of research in many different scientific fields.
Contact details of the Helsinki Convention Bureau(Link leads to external service)
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Fill in the application form
Please read the application instructions and submit the online application form and the annex to it no later than one year before the planned event to ensure that the application process runs smoothly.
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Evaluation of the application
Our specialists will evaluate your application based on the partnership criteria. We will let you know within about a month whether we will proceed to further negotiations with you.
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Partnership negotiations
Once your application has been approved, we will begin partnership negotiations and define the level of the partnership. After this, we will draw up a partnership agreement.
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Collaboration during the event
We will work closely with you during your event and provide support and the agreed contributions throughout the entire process.
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Joint assessment after the event
After the event, we will jointly assess its impact and discuss what opportunities there might be for continuing our partnership.
Submitted proposals are evaluated by a panel of specialists from the City of Helsinki. The composition of the panel varies depending on the application, but it always includes professionals who are familiar with the subject area.
Decisions regarding major events are made by the City Board or the Major Events Coordination Group (page in Finnish), which is chaired by the mayor. If you would like more information about the working groups developing events, please visit the page Helsinki as event city.
The evaluation uses pre-defined criteria based on Helsinki’s City Strategy and the Development Programme for Helsinki Tourism and Events.
Partnership proposal form
Please familiarise yourself with the questions on the partnership proposal form before filling in the form. Please note that the form must be filled in in one go; you cannot save your progress and continue later. As such, we recommend that you prepare your answers in advance and enter them all at once.
The purpose of the partnership proposal form is to provide the City with basic information about your event and serve as a channel for initiating discussion. If your proposal is approved, this does not mean that you are automatically granted the proposed partnership; instead, we will begin joint discussions concerning the partnership.
Please submit your partnership proposal no later than 12 months before the planned start date of the event in order to allow sufficient time for evaluation and ensure that the City can put together an appropriate event programme based on approved proposals.
View the questions on the partnership proposal form (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Annex to the partnership proposal form
You are also required to submit a free-form annex to your partnership proposal. You will receive instructions on how to submit the annex by email once you have submitted the partnership proposal form. Here are some guidelines for drafting the free-form annex.
- The purpose of the partnership proposal form is to provide the City with basic information about your event and serve as a channel for initiating discussion. If your proposal is approved, this does not mean that you are automatically granted the proposed partnership; instead, we will begin joint discussions concerning the partnership.
- To allow sufficient time for the evaluation, please submit your proposal no later than 12 months before the planned start date of the event.
- Submitted proposals are evaluated by a designated evaluation panel that includes the expertise required for the proposal in question.
- The evaluation panel uses a set of evaluation criteria based on the current Helsinki City Strategy and the Development Programme for Helsinki Tourism and Events.
- The form itself is a standardised template designed to collect the necessary basic information. The annex is your opportunity/means to highlight what kinds of impacts that benefit both parties the event will have and why the event is significant for Helsinki. It is best to be as realistic as possible about the potential partnership.
- If your proposal is rejected and no discussions are initiated, this does not, of course, mean that your event is not significant: it simply did not meet the criteria for a City-level partnership on this occasion.
- Instead of a partnership, the City of Helsinki can also contribute to the organisations of an event in a ‘lighter’ way in the form of a grant. Find out more about grants and explore the different types available(Link leads to external service).
In the annex, you should clearly highlight things that are particularly significant for the event and that are reflected in its organisation. Please note that your application will be evaluated on the basis of the things that you highlight in the annex.
In the annex, you can highlight what kinds of impacts that benefit both parties the event will have and why the event is significant for Helsinki. It is best to be as realistic as possible about the potential partnership.
Please explain in the annex why you would like to become an event partner for Helsinki. Find out more about Helsinki’s City Strategy and the Development Programme for Helsinki Tourism and Events. Please also familiarise yourself with the criteria used to evaluate applications.
Is your event a conference or a corporate event?
If your event is a conference or corporate event, please state whether the central government is involved in the event. Please also estimate which countries the participants are coming from and how many participants there will be.
Who is your event aimed at?
We want to support events aimed at children, young people or older people in particular. Please state in your application if:
- the content of your event is designed specifically for these age groups.
- these groups will have the opportunity to participate in organising the event.
What wider impacts will your event have?
We will also evaluate the wider benefits of your event for Helsinki. Please describe whether your event will have a significant economic impact on local businesses or other stakeholders, for example.
Example: A cultural or sporting event can attract customers to local restaurants, hotels and service providers, thereby boosting the vitality of the whole area.