Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the New Year will not be celebrated in Helsinki city centre but instead will be seen in remotely, at home. Instead of the traditional public event, the Helsinki Channel and Yle will broadcast a programme to bring a festive atmosphere to people of all ages. Laser beams will also light up the Helsinki sky. News on the city’s fireworks displays will be announced later.

Service centres will remain closed at least until 28.2.2021. The opening of service centres will be re-evaluated in February.

Helsinki aims to be the learning capital of the world. Starting its operations in the city centre next year, Helsinki Education Hub is a concrete step towards this goal. It is the first in the world to combine learning and education startups, Finnish pedagogic competence, innovative learning environment and academic research into one coherent world-class export product.

The latest issue of the City of Helsinki’s print publication focuses on municipal programmes that assist members of the city’s international community to secure employment. You can also find information on exciting new English-language websites and advisory services.

On 2 December 2020, Helsinki will be opening the first web address with the .helsinki ending. The aim of the new .helsinki sites is to make City of Helsinki online services easier to find and more customer-oriented. The first new site to be opened will be testbed.helsinki, which will introduce visitors to City of Helsinki’s testbed operations and consolidate information about the opportunities companies will have to test their products in collaboration with the City.

Nordic Noir and Nordic Crime have become noteworthy genres. Many of the best-known fictional Finnish police officers and detectives solve crimes in the Helsinki region. Enjoy Helsinki's Christmas lights.

Helsinki takes the coronavirus infections of children and pupils at daycare centres and schools seriously and examines all infections thoroughly.

In its meeting on 26 November 2020, the coronavirus coordination group decided on new recommendations and restrictions to curb the spread of the regional epidemic. The new policies are a reaction to the threat of the epidemic spreading and the healthcare services becoming overburdened. The temporary recommendations and restrictions will continue as needed.