Designed by Alvar Aalto, the Finlandia Hall was opened after a three-year major renovation on 4 January 2025. For the first time in its history, the renovated Finlandia Hall will open not only to congress and event visitors but also to all city residents and travellers as a common, everyday leisure destination and experience venue.
– A completely new era is beginning in our story. Our history has been undeniably magnificent and successful, but modern times require new ways of thinking and operating models. During the renovation years, we have done bold and determined innovation and concept development work for our offerings to serve both our customers and Helsinki's downtown area even better. The Finlandia Hall opening on Saturday is an entirely new kind of experience-based event center where everyone can experience something new and whose doors are open to everyone, says Johanna Tolonen, CEO of Finlandia Hall Ltd.
Services and experiences make the New Finlandia
Versatile event and congress services remain the core of Finlandia Hall's operations The Finlandia Hall, Piazza, and other familiar magnificent event spaces and their furniture have been restored to their former glory, and they have been joined by a showroom specifically serving launch events or pop-up exhibitions.
Throughout the year, the halls will also be filled with various public events in diverse genres from ballet and musicals to pop, rock, and heavy metal concerts, not forgetting the Strauss concerts of the opening weekend.
In the renewed Finlandia Hall, you can enjoy the delicacies of the Finlandia Bistro à la carte restaurant, the extensive art collections of the Helsinki Art Museum and an exhibition that will be opened next summer. For the first time, the general public is able to admire the Töölönlahti Bay landscape on the terrace of the new wine café. New accommodation facilities will also be opened in the Finlandia Hall.
– We have more services and experiences available than ever before, and they have been specifically designed to make event and meeting visitors' visits experiential and comprehensive, says Tolonen.
A large collection of new and older art on display
Finlandia Hall hosts also 70 works from the City of Helsinki’s art collection. The works amount to the scale of a mid-sized art exhibition and are displayed across the building, covering over 20,000 square metres, with consideration for the building’s architecture and history. In addition to older works, the walls of Finlandia Hall showcase the latest contemporary art and works spanning the building’s years of existence.
Artworks considered classics and connected to the building’s history have been brought back to Finlandia Hall. These include works such as the Swan, by Birger Kaipiainen, and the bronze relief The Thought – President U.K. Kekkonen, by Laila Pullinen. Completed in 1964, the Swan has welcomed visitors in the main lobby for around 10 years. The portrait of President Kekkonen stands out from the wall-mounted, wavy bronze relief in the second-floor foyer.
Finlandia Hall now also features many artworks that have not been displayed there before, such as EGS’s painting Archipelago of Past and Future, located in the restaurant, originally created for the 2021 Helsinki Biennial.
In connection with Finlandia Hall’s renovation, a new public artwork was commissioned from sculptor Kimmo Schroderus. Entertainer’s Day Off is placed on the north-end terrace, opening to the public for the first time. The five-metre-tall human figure made of acid-proof steel is like a Finlandia Hall visitor who has ended up on the terrace, looking over the railing at the Töölönlahti Bay. The work’s funding was enabled by the Percent for Art principle, followed by the City of Helsinki.
Finlandia Homes: Historically Unique Accommodation
In the future, it will also be possible to stay overnight at the Finlandia Hall. Finlandia Hall's new accommodation facilities offer a globally unique opportunity to experience Finnish design and architecture up close, and stay overnight in a concert and conference venue. These two apartments, originally designed by Alvar Aalto as staff residences and now carefully restored, are now opened for the first time as bookable accommodation. The apartments are decorated respecting Aalto's style and furnished with both modern classics and the building's original furniture.
The renewed Finlandia Hall will be celebrated throughout January
Finlandia Hall will celebrate the opening month throughout January with various programs.
On January 25, Finlandia Hall will host an open house day, where everyone is welcome to enjoy, experience, learn and engage in discussions in Finlandia Hall's renovated and renewed spaces, as well as explore the new services.
For children, there will be a trivia trail, an obstacle course, and musical performances. For adults, there will be interesting lectures and discussions that will explore the building's history and its iconic features.
Finlandia Hall open house day, January 25
Program for Children 10:30 AM–2:00 PM
- Trivia trail and obstacle course, with a piece of Finlandia Hall marble as a prize
- Duo Päistikka – Children's music orchestra leads dancing and singing at the Piazza
Discussion Events 12:00 PM–3:00 PM
- 12:00 PM–1:00 PM Finlandia Hall, Helsinki's Iconic Landmark
Professor Laura Kolbe opens the discussion, where we invite the audience to participate by sharing their own memories and experiences of Finlandia Hall. - 2:00 PM–3:00 PM I Love the Human in You
Participants: Heikki Aalto-Alanen, Virpi Suutari, and Kirsti Manninen
"How do Heikki Aalto-Alanen's book about his grandparents, Virpi Suutari's Aalto documentary, and the upcoming Finlandia Hall exhibition find and support each other?"
Guided Tours at 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 4:00 PM
- Registration one hour before the tour at Finlandia Hall's service desk
- Each tour can accommodate the first 30 registered participants
- The guided tours are organized in cooperation with the Alvar Aalto Foundation
A permanent exhibition opening in Finlandia Hall in June 2025 will tell experientially about both Finnish identity and the life's work and creative sources of Alvar, Aino, and Elissa Aalto. More about the exhibition will be announced later in Spring 2025.
Read more about Finlandia Hall's opening year events: finlandiatalo.fi/en
