Helsinki Festival featured premieres, top artists from around the world and farewell to Huvila for a two-year break

In late summer, Helsinki Festival brought top international artists from the fields of music, theatre, dance and visual arts to Helsinki. The Night of the Arts was marked by a magical parade of giant giraffes, and Huvila resounded for the last time before a break.

Helsinki Festival 2026 took place from 18 August to 5 September. The festival programme included more than 100 performances representing different art forms, and almost 400 free events on the Night of the Arts spread across Helsinki.

The main event of the Night of the Arts was the animal operetta Les Girafes by the French theatre group Compagnie Off. In a monumental street performance, giant giraffes paraded through the centre of Helsinki to Senate Square, evoking joy, amazement and moments of surprise in the audience. The performance, which combined puppetry, circus, burlesque and opera, brought experiential art to the heart of the city and attracted some 20,000 spectators along the parade route.

Distinctive world star Rufus Wainwright opened Helsinki Festival in many roles: His impressive Dream Requiem was heard on the first two nights of the festival at Musiikkitalo with Dalia Stasevska, Anna Prohaska and Laura Birn. Wainwright’s solo concert was played to a full house at Huvila on the Night of the Arts.

Opera history was also made at Musiikkitalo with the Finnish premiere of György Ligeti’s cult work Le Grand Macabre. The concert by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Nicholas Collon and directed by Frederic Wake-Walker. The lineup of international soloists included Sarah Aristidou, Leigh Melrose, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, Heidi Melton and Andrew Watts. The critically acclaimed work travelled straight from Musiikkitalo to the Musikfest Berlin.

The Helsinki Festival programme at Musiikkitalo also included Northern Irish composer, librettist and theatre-maker Conor Mitchell’s Riot Symphony, performed by the Orchestra of the Finnish National Opera and combining symphonic expression and video art with themes of social resistance. 

The tradition of bringing world-class international classical music ensembles to Helsinki continued with the return of the renowned Czech Philharmonic Orchestra to Finland after an absence of 50-years. The Orchestra performed two concerts at Musiikkitalo under the baton of its chief conductor, Semyon Bychkov. The star soloists of the evenings were the internationally acclaimed violinist Karen Gomyo and one of today’s most dazzling pianists, Yunchan Lim.

The international programme was enriched by artistic director Cheng Tsung-lung’s visually stunning choreography 13 Tongues performed by the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan at Dance House Helsinki, the Olivier Award-winning BLKDOG by the electrifying Botis Sevan was seen at Almi Hall at the Opera House, and The Silence by Schaubühne from Berlin, performed on the main stage of the Finnish National Theatre, with award-winning brilliant actor Dimitrij Schaad. Kunsthalle Helsinki also hosted Alia Ali’s first solo exhibition in the Nordic countries: the colourful and immersive In Light of… which will continue until 1 November.

The Belgian ensemble Zonzo Compagnie’s delightful production Thelonious, aimed at children and families, introduced the audience to the world of jazz legend Thelonious Monk through music and animation.

Helsinki Festival’s own iconic venue, Huvila, once again hosted a wide range of Finnish and international artists. Besides Rufus Wainwright, also Katie Melua, Carminho, Angélique Kidjo, Amanda Bergman, Hannes, Ricky-Tick Big Band & Julkinen Sana and Egotrippi performed at Tokoinranta. Special events in the programme included the 25th anniversary concert of Anssi Kela’s Nummela album, a joint evening in the company of Rajaton and Club For Five, as well as the Legends of the North in Helsinki concert played by the Chamber Orchestra of Lapland, with John Storgårds, Katarina Barruk and Niillas Holmberg.

The Helsinki Festival wrapped up at Huvila with Ellinoora x Sinfonia Lahti: Pop Sinfonia concert on September 5. At the same time, we bid farewell to Huvila ahead of a break due to renovations at Tokoinranta Park. Although the tent will not be erected, pop and rock music will continue to feature in the Helsinki Festival programme.

“It has been an honour to create this year’s Helsinki Festival together with outstanding artists and professionals from Finland and around the world. The programme’s strong international dimension has been reflected both in major international guest appearances and in Finnish-international collaborations, including the large-scale Dream Requiem at the Helsinki Music Centre, the opera Le Grand Macabre, and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra’s concert at Huvila featuring Finnish and international soloists. Huvila’s upcoming renovation break will open up new possibilities for the Helsinki Festival. We are already looking forward to annpuncing next year’s inspiring programme”, says Johanna Freundlich, Artistic Director of Helsinki Festival.

Helsinki Festival’s late summer offering has also been complemented by partner festivals: Viapori Jazz, Sampo Festival, Outsider Art Festival, Karhupuisto Film Festival, choral singing event Kuorojen kierros, Kolibri Festival, Kamarikesä (Chamber Summer), Helsinki Summer Opera, Teatteri Sirkus Suosalo, Poetry Moon, Ateneum – Modern Classics / Elga Sesemann and Sokeritehdas (the Sugar Factory).

The next Helsinki Festival will take place 19 August–4 September 2027.

Image: Petri Anttila