Helsinki hosts tens of thousands of public and business events, conferences and fairs every year. In 2025, there were around 50,000 public events held in Helsinki, with the number of larger mass events doubling from the previous year. Last year was also a particularly good congresses year: a total of 203 congresses were held in Helsinki, attended by 66,600 delegates.
Events strengthen the vitality and distinctiveness of the city and bring income and customers to local operators.
“Events are the soul of Helsinki. Our strength is our wide range of events: we have everything from neighbourhood village fairs to festivals, expos and congresses attended by thousands of people. Big and small, surprising and unforgettable,” says Sanna Forsström from the Brand and Events Unit of the Helsinki City Executive Office
Helsinki's development as a city of events is guided by the City of Helsinki’s Tourism and Events Programme 2026–2029, which is based on the City Strategy. The aim of the programme is to boost strong year-round growth in tourism and events, lengthen the length of stay of tourists, increase international attractiveness with the themes of a happy Helsinki and ensure that Helsinki is a growth partner and a more functional city for tourism and events.
“In the future, we want to be an even better facilitator of events that add to the happy experiences of residents and tourists in Helsinki all year round. Together with the event industry, we want to develop events that make Helsinki a better place by contributing to the vitality and wellbeing of businesses and residents alike,” says Forsström.
Developing events in good cooperation between the City and the event industry
Cooperation between the City and the event industry is promoted by Helsinki’s Events Advisory Board, which was established in 2024. The current composition of the Board held its first meeting at the end of April.
“Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. The conditions in Helsinki and policies favourable to the event industry have a major impact on the event industry as a whole. It is important for Helsinki to offer good opportunities for event organisation and for events to be highlighted in its strategies and practical actions,” emphasises Managing Director of Event Industry Finland Sami Kerman.
“I think that Helsinki is now well on track when it comes to developing the conditions for events, and the future looks promising – but there is plenty of work to do if we want to make real progress. The City is first and foremost an enabler. It is important for Helsinki to offer a wide range of events, from small to large, all year round. It is important for the City to ensure that this diversity is possible,” says Chief Operating Officer Kalle Marttinen from Palloliitto Ltd, who is one of the new members of the Events Advisory Board.
“I expect open and solution-oriented discussion and genuine effectiveness from the Events Advisory Board. At its best, the Board acts as a bridge-builder between the City and the event industry and helps to identify concrete development measures through which we can move Helsinki's event industry forward together – in a practical and long-term manner,” says Group Director of Operations Mirkka Rautala from Live Nation, who was also a member of the Events Advisory Board during its previous term.
Helsinki is a versatile and easy city for events
The members of the Events Advisory Board see Helsinki's diversity, compact size and willingness to experiment and develop as its strengths.
“I see Helsinki as a bold, year-round event city, where big international events coexist with smaller local events. Helsinki's strength lies in its ease of access – the city is big enough to attract international players, but at the same time human and approachable for the public and event organisers,” says Mirkka Rautala.
“Helsinki has many different types and sizes of venues, and it is great to see the conditions for events being developed in different parts of the city. One example of an excellent current project is the development of Käpylä Sports and Event Park,” says Marketing and Communications Director of Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre Lumia Ankkuri.
“Helsinki has also seen the emergence of event innovations that have grown into major players in the industry. For these kinds of grassroots activities to emerge, not everything needs to be super controlled. As the city grows and undeveloped urban areas are taken over for residential and other uses, we must ensure that there is also room for people to engage in activities independently. Such activities serve as important raw material for a vibrant event industry, along with skills, investment, commercial networks and sufficient demand,” stresses Sami Kerman, and continues:
“The City also plays an important role in spurring the industry on in areas such as sustainability.”
“It is important to have a variety of events of different sizes. The range of sporting events should remain as broad as possible, so that sports lovers can enjoy a wide variety of events all year round. The sports sector is an excellent year-round source of diverse events,” Kalle Marttinen is keen to remind us.
“Helsinki needs to be rich and diverse in its event offerings to comprehensively serve its residents and at the same time attract tourists from different target groups and with different perspectives. The Helsinki of the future is a capital city known for its events that offer something for everyone,” Lumia Ankkuri envisions.
The Events Advisory Board meets 3–4 times a year. The tasks of the Board are to:
- act as an advisory board for the development and promotion of events in Helsinki;
- participate in the monitoring and implementation of the City of Helsinki’s Tourism and Events Programme 2026–2029, which is currently under preparation;
- monitor and assess the development of the operating environment and phenomena of the event industry in Helsinki, nationally and globally;
- jointly identify and prioritise measures to promote the competitiveness and growth of events in Helsinki and submit concrete proposals to the City;
- provide up-to-date information on projects related to events;
- act as a messenger of the importance of the event industry, both to the City and to external stakeholders.
Members of the Events Advisory Board:
- Sami Kerman, Events Industry Finland, Managing Director, Chair of the Board
- Sanna Forsström, City of Helsinki, Head of the Brand and Events Unit, Vice-Chair of the Board
- Heidi Hujanen, City of Helsinki, Event Specialist, Board Secretary
- Karoliina Ala-Opas Helsinki Partners, Head of Convention Bureau
- Lumia Ankkuri, Messukeskus, Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, Marketing and Communications Director
- Riikka Fagerholm, Helsinki Events Foundation, Commercial Director
- Oskari Liimatainen, Lataamo Group, Chief Creative Officer
- Kalle Marttinen, Palloliitto Ltd, Chief Operating Officer
- Emilia Mikkola, Kulttuuritalo, CEO
- Päivi Munther, City of Helsinki, Event Manager
- Eeka Mäkynen, Tuska Festival, CEO
- Marju Paju, Olympic Stadium, Marketing and Communication Director
- Mirkka Rautala, Live Nation Group, Director of Operations
- Ari Solja, Securitas, Senior Project Manager
- Tuomo Tähtinen, Full Steam Agency, Managing Director