Helsinki Festival celebrated Huvila’s 30th anniversary and presented world-class premieres
The Helsinki Festival, which concluded yesterday on 31 August, once again filled the city with hundreds of art events, including numerous premieres and international guest performances. The Night of the Arts’ acrobatic theatre piece drew around 30,000 spectators to Senate Square, while audience favourites also included the Sydney Dance Company’s visit, the contemporary circus performance Tempo, and Ismo Alanko’s double nights at the 30-year-old Huvila Festival Tent.
The Helsinki Festival opened on 14 August with the Night of the Arts, which once again gathered tens of thousands of art lovers for more than 370 free events. The highlight of the evening was Theater Tol’s high-flying acrobatic work Pedaleando Hacia El Cielo, followed by approximately 30,000 spectators at Senate Square.
International highlights included the Australian Sydney Dance Company’s dazzling double bill, performed to sold-out audiences. Estonian theatre also took the stage, with the Estonian Drama Theatre presenting the acclaimed Mephisto and Von Krahl Theatre bringing The Fundamentalist to Helsinki. Contemporary circus, dance, theatre, acrobatics and music met in Kalle Nio and Fernando Melo’s Tempo, which premiered at the Festival and will continue its journey to international festivals across Europe and Asia. Another highlight was composer Bushra El-Turk’s opera Woman at Point Zero, which has become a global phenomenon.
The Festival also featured powerful international orchestral performances. At the Helsinki Music Centre, the world-renowned Chamber Orchestra of Europe performed under star conductor Robin Ticciati, while Kremerata Baltica celebrated Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday, joined by violinist Gidon Kremer, who originally premiered Pärt’s Tabula Rasa. At Dance House Helsinki, the New York ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars impressed with the European premiere of David Lang’s monumental before and after nature together with the Helsinki Chamber Choir. The work will next be heard at the Ruhrtriennale in Germany and later at venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York. Other premieres included Maija Hynninen’s acclaimed Helios, performed by the Guards Band and organist Jan Lehtola, as well as Sauli Zinovjev’s atmospheric Tarpeeton pyyhitään yli with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
This year also marked the 30th anniversary of the iconic Huvila Festival Tent, a landmark of August in Helsinki. The anniversary concert featured Pepe Willberg, Bess, Emilia Sisco, Arppa, Hassan Maikal, Paleface and the celebratory orchestra led by Risto Niinikoski. Highlights of the Huvila series also included Ismo Alanko’s solo and band evenings, the Finnish debuts of Spanish icon Luz Casal and rising soul star Jalen Ngonda, and a special concert curated by Bryce Dessner with the Australian String Quartet, cellist Anastasia Kobekina and mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron.
The 2025 Helsinki Festival was the first under new Artistic Director Johanna Freundlich.
“In this year’s Festival, different art forms, genres and themes each had their own voice but together formed a balanced, unified whole. It was energising to witness several standing ovations, and both the children’s performances at Almi Hall and the family-friendly piece that filled Senate Square reminded us of the value of investing in the next generation. This is work we will continue in the future – our goal is to truly be a festival for everyone,” says Freundlich.
The Festival programme was complemented by partner festivals such as Alakulttuuripäivä, Helsinki Opera Summer, Chamber Summer, Kolibrí Festival, Choir Tour, Outsider Art Festival, Runokuu, SAMPO Festival, Teatteri Sirkus Suosalo and Viapori Jazz, some of which continue into September.
The next Helsinki Festival will take place in August–September 2026. The Festival’s main partners are Elisa and Helsingin Sanomat, with Food Camp, Rajupaja, Marski by Scandic, Helsinki Bryggeri, Heku and Grano as service partners.
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Image: Saara Autere