More than 200 sports courses and other events for seniors
Seniors can enjoy water workouts, master dance rhythms, get stronger with a personal fitness programme or join their peers for guided walks starting from local libraries.
Helsinki’s cultural centres will host a variety of programme for music and theatre lovers. Performances will also take place during daytime and online. Sports and cultural services for the elderly are listed in our printed brochure, which is widely available throughout Helsinki.
We have listed the autumn’s offering for theelderly in our autumn brochure. (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Below, we have listed some examples of the autumn programme.
Guided walks from libraries topped off with coffee
Join us in August for guided walks and coffee in the surroundings of ten libraries. While strolling, we will also do various exercises under the guidance of a sports instructor. After the walk, the library will serve coffee to all participants. The guided walks are free of charge and no advance registration is required.
The hour-long walks will take place on the following Thursdays: 17, 24 and 31 August. We will head out at 10.00 from Kontula, Malminkartano, Maunula, Myllypuro, Pitäjänmäki, Puistola, Rikhardinkatu, Töölö and Vuosaari libraries and also from Oodi, where the walks will be held in Swedish.
Besides reading material, you can borrow various sports equipment and outdoor games from libraries, such as kettlebells, Nordic walking poles and pétanque sets.
More information on the guided walks(Link leads to external service)
Registration for autumn sports courses begins on 14 August
Registration for sports courses will start on Monday, 14 August 2023 on a staggered basis, and the courses will start at the beginning of September. The course offering includes water workouts, group exercise classes and gym training, among other things. The services are affordable, and people over the age of 64 are eligible for a 50 per cent discount also on all courses and services aimed at the working-age population. There are more than 200 instructed courses for seniors, aimed at people of various fitness levels.
More detailed information about sports courses and how to register is available in our brochure or at liikunta.hel.fi(Link leads to external service) You can browse the autumn sports course options and register starting from 14 August in our online sports shop at liikuntakauppa.hel.fi(Link leads to external service) or by calling +358 9 310 28858.
Try out different sports in the popular SenioriSäpinät events
The popular single-charge Seniorisäpinät events will continue in September in Liikuntamylly and at Pirkkola Sports Park. Seniorisäpinät are exercise events aimed at elderly Helsinki residents for trying out different sports. Each event has its own theme. No advance registration is required, and you can participate by paying the sports hall entrance fee. Seniorisäpinät are held in Liikuntamylly on Thursdays 7 September–14 December at 9.30–11.30 and at Pirkkola Sports Park on Fridays 8 September–15 December at 9.30–11.30.
More information about Seniorisäpinät is available at liikunta.hel.fi/seniorisapinat(Link leads to external service)
If you are struggling to find a suitable form of exercise, we are here to help. The free of charge Liikuntaluuri telephone service gives information and guidance on starting physical activity and help in registering for sports courses: tel. +358 9 310 32623 (lnc/mpc) Mon–Thu at 13.00–15.00.
Feel the benefits of culture on your wellbeing – even on a weekly basis
Helsinki’s cultural centres (Caisa, Kanneltalo, Malmitalo, Maunula-talo, Stoa and Vuotalo) offer interesting programme every week. In August, you can enjoy world music on the Espa Stage and in Ala-Malmi Park or get caught up in dance at the Sitratori and Vuotori squares. Theatre performances, film screenings and concerts will take place as usual in autumn afternoons and early evenings. Cultural centre galleries will also host changing exhibitions, which are always free of charge. The popular Kanneltalo sing-along events will continue in autumn 2023. Below, we have listed some examples of the autumn programme.
Partner dance and sing-along events
7–31 August: City dances will continue until the end of August at Sitratori and Vuotori squares and in Ala-Malmi Park.
From 22 August: Morning dances at Stoa with Jussi Väänänen and Katja Koukkula
From 25 September: Nyt lauletaan! sing-along event hosted by Mari Kätkä at Kanneltalo.
The events are free of charge and no advance registration is required.
Music and festivals
7–17 August: Etno-Espa is an annual city festival that focuses on new Finnish folk music, Espa Stage.
From 10 August: free of charge August evening tunes on Thursday nights at Vuotori square, performers include Hasse Walli Power Trio on Thu 24 August.
18 August: Muska and other treats in the Malmi Summer of Events in Ala-Malmi Park
The events are free of charge and no advance registration is required.
Theatre and comedy
16 September: Pientä laittoa, Maarit Peltomaa and Juha Veijonen, Malmitalo
27 and 28 September: Ulla Tapaninen: Lava-ammuntaa VII – Seven-up komiikkaa, Kanneltalo
30 November: Rakkauskirjeitä, Seela Sella and Esko Roine, Vuotalo
Tickets to the theatre performances are available at lippu.fi or on-site.
You can explore the cultural centres’ programme at tapahtumat.hel.fi. (Link leads to external service)
Photographs by Jörn Donner and Afro-Finnish history
There is still time to delve into the landscapes of the past through Jörn Donner’s lens at Villa Hakasalmi. The photographic exhibition Jörn Donner – Travelling 1951–68 brings to life fleeting moments captured by Donner: ordinary daily life, politicians and the splendour of film stars. The photographs are of high artistic quality, showing people, encounters, street scenes and travels ranging from the Sahara Desert to the Cannes Film Festival.
This unique photographic exhibition can be experienced at Villa Hakasalmi until 3 September. Seniors can visit the exhibition at a reduced price of €10 (normal price €14) or free of charge with the Museum Card!
Jörn Donner – Travelling 1951–68
7 August–3 September 2023
Villa Hakasalmi
Mannerheimintie 13b
Explore Helsinki through the eyes of Afro-Finnish and black young people at the Helsinki City Museum. The exhibition Being Black – Afro Finns’ Experiences provides an opportunity for reflection on diversity, minorities, the Afro-Finnish community, identities, traditions and recording one’s own history. This is a historic exhibition, as the Afro-Finnish community has never been described to this extent before.
Afro Finns’ experiences and stories will be exhibited at the Helsinki City Museum until 24 September. Entrance to the Helsinki City Museum exhibitions is permanently free of charge.
Being Black – Afro Finns’ Experiences
22 April–24 September 2023
Helsinki City Museum, 4th floor
Aleksanterinkatu 16
The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra performs at libraries
The beloved and vastly popular ‘Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra at Your Library’ tour will once again play in libraries this November. The library tour concerts are about half an hour long and free of charge. The programme will be announced later in the autumn on the Helmet website.(Link leads to external service)
The autumn brochure is available in the following locations:
- City of Helsinki health stations and service centres
- Helsinki libraries
- City’s largest sports venues: Töölö sports hall, Liikuntamylly, the Swimming Stadium, Pirkkola Sports Park and Itäkeskus Swimming Hall
- Cultural centres: Stoa, Malmitalo, Kanneltalo, Maunula-talo, Vuotalo
- The brochure will also be delivered inside the Helsingin Uutiset free newspaper on Wednesday, 9 August.