Helsinki residents have found cultural centres as places of leisure and events, as indicated by last year’s visitor figures. In 2024, a total of 862,900 people attended cultural centre events, as compared to 684,900 in 2023. In other words, the number of visitors increased by 26% in a year, or by more than a quarter.
The figures include visitors to cultural events at Annantalo, Caisa, Kanneltalo, Malmitalo, Maunula House, Savoy Theatre, Stoa and Vuotalo in Helsinki. Visitors to concerts arranged on the Espa stage are also included.
City residents were most interested in concerts and free event days. Major crowd-pleasers in 2024 included Arppa's gigs at Kanneltalo and Malmitalo Park, Arja Saijonmaa's and Vilma Jää's concerts on the Espa stage, Michael Monroe's and the late Heikki Silvennoinen's gigs at Vuotalo and Kauri Honkakoski's Hinterland's theatre performance at Stoa.
Helsinki invests in art and culture
In addition to interesting content and a wide range of offerings, the increase in the number of visitors is attributable to the relatively inexpensive or free content of Helsinki’s cultural centres. Among others, the concerts on the Espa stage and the gigs of the Malmi Summer of Events city festival, which attracted large numbers of visitors last year, were free events.
“Many of us are now thinking more carefully about how we spend money in our leisure time. It is great that cultural centres have been able to invest in interesting performers and content, as well as provide the possibility for everyone to participate,” says Mari Männistö, City of Helsinki’s Deputy Director of Culture.
In the case of Annantalo, the increase in the number of visitors is also attributable to the increase in activities open to everyone, which is affected by the reform of Annantalo’s art education, for example.
Helsinki also invests in opportunities for arts and culture. The city supported cultural operators in Helsinki with a total of EUR 18.7 million in 2024. In 2025, the grant appropriation for arts and culture will increase further to a total of EUR 21.2 million.
“The amount of art and culture grants awarded to art and culture operators will increase at a historically high rate: about 13%, or EUR 2.5 million. I hope that this investment will liven up the city and create interesting new art and cultural experiences also in cultural centres,” says Männistö.
Favourite events to continue this year
Hundreds of events for city residents will be held in Helsinki’s cultural centres again this year. Vuotatalo will host Värttinä's album release gig on the Kalevala Day 28 February, and you can visit Sanna Pelliccioni’s and Eppu Nuotio’s illustration exhibition “Sinä päivänä” until 29 March.
On 3 May, Stoa will feature the premiere of Theatre Nirvana’s Hatkat stage performance, which is based on the authors’ own experiences and background research on the operation of child welfare and psychiatric ward care.
Malmi Summer of Events, which was immensely popular in 2024, will also be arranged. The free city festival, arranged in the urban renewal area in Malmi, will fill Malmitalo’s adjacent Ala-Malmi Park with gigs, family programme, performing arts and workshops. The concerts on the Espa stage will also be continued next summer.
The review of the Savoy Theatre's governance model has been completed and the theatre will continue to be developed as a service of the City of Helsinki Culture and Leisure Division. Highlights of the spring include the Savoy JAZZFest and the 100th anniversary concert of the Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis .
For information on all spring season events at the cultural centres, go to tapahtumat.hel.fi/en. More information on summer events will be provided in the spring.
