Helsinki is a pioneer in making public spaces available to residents. By making a booking in the Varaamo service at varaamo.hel.fi(Link leads to external service), an individual resident or community can use the City’s spaces and equipment free of charge or for a reasonable price. People’s homes or the premises of associations are often not large enough to accommodate joint meetings for larger groups. It is also not reasonable to purchase equipment that you only need occasionally.
“This is an open invitation to the residents of Helsinki to come and use the spaces and equipment offered by the City. Our facilities are not constantly being used by the City; instead, they can easily accommodate the activities of residents and communities,” says Head of the Culture and Leisure Division Juha Ahonen.
Opportunities for hobby activities and event organisers
Helsinki aims for flexible use of facilities in its strategy. The City wants to facilitate the use of its premises and areas for events and cultural activities and cut through some of the red tape.
“When individual residents and communities use our spaces and equipment, we refer to it as resident use. Many organisations, associations and other parties utilise the facilities of the City and offer a wide range of recreational activities for residents to enjoy. You can book spaces for regular weekly activities in Varaamo for the entire season,” Ahonen says.
Varaamo offers spaces for indoor and outdoor events You can organise an event for a few dozen people e.g. in the library auditorium, youth centre multi-purpose room or school cafeteria. You can book park areas, squares and open-air stages for outdoor events for up to 200 people in Varaamo without having to apply for a permit. The person making the reservation is in charge of the event.
“We hope that the option to easily book event spaces online will encourage residents to organise new and interesting events all over the city,” Ahonen says.
Spaces and equipment for work and leisure
You can find a versatile selection of spaces and equipment for various purposes in Varaamo. Most of the facilities can be booked for free. Many residents already know about the meeting rooms available in libraries and youth centres. Students, in particular, take advantage of these free-of-charge spaces for group work and studying. Space for housing company meetings, children's birthday parties and other events may be found literally next door.
Studio and band facilities and rooms for digital gaming available in Varaamo are very popular. During the summer season, residents of Helsinki can book cottages, meeting villas, wooden huts and saunas in Varaamo for leisure time activities. The City’s outdoor tennis courts can also be booked in Varaamo, meaning that you can avoid the queues.
Libraries offer a comprehensive selection of devices, musical instruments and pieces of equipment. Residents can use them free of charge, with the exception of material and printing fees. In addition to Central Library Oodi, you can digitise photographs as well as use a 3D printer, sewing machine and other equipment in many libraries around the city.
More than 10,000 bookings a month
Varaamo was first established as a joint municipal project in 2015. Many municipalities have continued the development of the booking system conceived as a pilot and offer a digital booking service under the Varaamo name. Helsinki closed the old Varaamo and introduced a service built on a new platform in spring 2024.
Residents are already reserving spaces and equipment in Varaamo at a rate of 10,000 bookings a month. The number of users of the renewed Varaamo is increasing. The selection of spaces and equipment is expanding, as more and more City locations start using the service.
