Event partnership or grant?
You can apply to the City for either a grant or an event partnership to help organise your event. In certain cases, it is possible for the same event to be granted both an event partnership and a grant.
An event partnership is a form of (strategic) cooperation in which the City and the event organiser work together to their mutual benefit in order to advance shared objectives. Such cooperation may involve contributions from the City in return for consideration, and these contributions can take the form of marketing and communications cooperation, advice or financial contributions. Prospective partners are expected to ensure that their event meets the City’s partnership criteria and submit their application via the City’s application process.
Grants are a form of gratuitous financial support awarded by the City to cover the costs of an event or for some other pre-defined purpose. Grants that can be used to organise events include the grants for culture, sports and youth activities, which are awarded by the Culture and Leisure Division. Grants are often a more flexible route to collaboration than a reciprocal event partnership. You can apply for the City’s grants here: Read more about event grants.(Link leads to external service)
In some cases, grants for resident participation are also suitable for events. For more information, please visit Grants for resident participation.(Link leads to external service)
Reciprocal event partnerships
We build partnerships around both annual and one-off events. These can include a wide variety of events, ranging from major sporting events and festivals to arena concerts and international conferences. Pilot events and smaller events may also apply for event partnerships. Please note that our partnerships are politically and religiously neutral, so events centred around these themes are excluded from event partnerships. Event partnerships are based on Helsinki’s City Strategy and a desire to develop together with the City. We also emphasise the objectives of the Development Programme for Helsinki Tourism and Events in our event partnerships.
Major event partners may include major competitions for which bids are invited, annual major events and one-off major events. Examples of major event partnerships include concerts by international artists and national and local sporting events, such as the European Athletics Championships and international concert tours.
Annual event partners can include events that are distinctive to Helsinki and take place on a regular basis, such as major festivals and national and local sporting competitions. Among the annual events are those whose growth and success the City wants to support in particular, such as Flow Festival, Helsinki Pride, Helsinki City Run and Tuska Festival.
Corporate events and conferences are typically one-off events. One example of our long-standing corporate event partners is Slush.
Growing local events that foster a sense of community and local wellbeing can also be selected as event partners. Partnerships may also develop over time from neighbourhood events that are awarded grants.
Pilot events are collaborative initiatives in which new event concepts, venues and operating models are tested in practice in an agile manner. The aim of pilot events is to find solutions that strengthen Helsinki’s vitality, appeal and year-round event offering. At the same time, pilot events develop the operating environment for events and create new opportunities for collaboration between event organisers, businesses and the City. Such collaboration can include:
- funding or specialist work
- visibility in communications and marketing
- cooperation with various event networks
- content collaboration.
We will define the roles of both parties in the partnership agreement.
Partnership levels
The City of Helsinki’s partnership model has three levels: light partnership, intermediate partnership and deep partnership. The appropriate level is determined through negotiations, during which we examine the needs of the event and how well they align with the City’s criteria. A light partnership includes marketing and communications support, for example. In addition to the above, an intermediate partnership includes specialist collaboration or support with organising the event, for example. In addition to the above, a deep partnership includes tailored specialist support, development support and the planning of strategic cooperation.
What do we expect from a partner? We value the following in our partnerships:
- activities in line with Helsinki’s City Strategy and brand
- positive impact on the city’s vitality
- responsibility, sustainability and a professional approach
- desire to develop and grow together with the City
The more your event supports the City’s objectives, the deeper our partnership can be.
We offer advisory services to all our partners.
