Helsinki will celebrate its 475th birthday on Thursday, 12 June, and the traditional Helsinki Day will offer hundreds of free events for the city’s residents. This year, the main event, Helsinki Day at the Core, will be held at Kamppi’s Narinkkatori and Lasipalatsi Squares. The all-day event will feature a performance by Karri Koira, football-themed activities with HJK’s players and Greta Muuri’s participatory art installation, which invites everyone to get involved in creating art in a public space. Attendees can also enjoy, free of charge, Helsinki-themed films at Gilda Cinema, Hufvudstadsbladet’s Urban Life photo exhibition and Amos Rex’s exhibitions, as well as a visit to Kamppi Chapel.
“A new and diverse event, to be held at Narinkkatori and Lasipalatsi has been curated. in collaboration with various operators, honouring the spirit of Helsinki Day. We want to cater for all kinds of Helsinki residents and offer a communal Helsinki Day event in the very heart of the city,” says Saara Vanhala, Senior Producer of the Helsinki Day at the Core event.
The extensive programme covers the whole of Helsinki from north to south
At the heart of Helsinki Day are the events organised across the city by residents themselves. This year, there will be more than 200 free of charge events around the city, from concerts to bingo games and quizzes, workshops to walking tours, island tours to sports activities and theatre performances to open-air dances. Young people can enjoy an open mic event at Annantalo, sample a variety of delicacies and entertainment by Pola Ivanka at the Queendom house for girls and young women, try out different forms of flow art at Sitratori and get involved in skateboarding and street art at Tuhkimopuisto, while older residents get to celebrate Helsinki Day with intergenerational encounters and a singalong at the Laajasalo Service Centre or at traditional outdoor dances at the Ala-Malmi Park and Vuotori.
The free programmes offered by the City of Helsinki’s cultural centres are also a significant part of Helsinki’s birthday celebrations, and a wide range of events will attract residents of different ages throughout the day. There will be a wide array of workshops, theatre performances, circus acts, magic shows, mobile saunas, pop-up shops and summer markets, as well as an extensive offering of live music, including performances by Anssi Kela, ANI, Goldielocks, Timo Lassy Trio and Michael Bleu.
The Savoy Theatre is in charge of the programme on the Espa Stage, featuring acts such as Kalevauva.fi and Mikko Perkoila. Stadin slangi ry will kick off the programme on the stage by announcing the 2025 Stadin kundi and Stadin friidu at 11, which will be followed by Frederik.
The Helsinki City Council celebrates its 150th anniversary by offering coffee and handing out rewards for Helsinki residents
Helsinki Day traditions start in the morning at the City Hall in an event hosted by the Mayor, with the first thousand people to arrive to be served a Helsinki Day traditional delicacy, rhubarb pie with coffee, accompanied by a performance by the duo Saimi & Saku from the Pop & Jazz Conservatory. To mark the 150th anniversary of the City Council, attendees will have the opportunity to take a tour that offers a behind-the-scenes look of the chambers of Helsinki’s decision-making body and have coffee and rhubarb pie from 8:30 to 10:20. The tours will lead visitors from the City Hall lobby to the mayor’s reception room and its adjacent balcony looking out over the Market Square. From there, they will continue to the historic Banquet Hall, the City Council Chamber and its public gallery.
