The Helsinki Festival take place every year in late summer. The festival rush that dominates Finland’s warmer months has mostly died down by then, giving this highlight of the European cultural calendar a very relaxed, open-minded atmosphere. The program for this year’s event was just announced, and interestingly female performers are predominant in the lineup…

Sister act

The big name musical events of the festival take place in a massive purpose-built tent named Huvila. This year the Huvila highlights are mostly women, and we’re talking divas the like of Martha Wainwright, Cape Verde’s Mayra Andrade, and Finland’s veteran songstress Paula Koivuniemi, who’ll be performing the cream of Finnish love songs. If those don’t take your fancy, other notable names include unorthodox American jazz trio The Bad Plus, and the “uncrowned king of Balkan disco”, Shantel, along with his Bucovina Club Orkestar. Tickets for Huvila events tend to go fast, so book early to avoid disappointment, as they say in the trade.

Classical connection

Classical music is something of a specialty area for Finland, and along with the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Helsinki has proved a world leader in bringing internationally-renowned performers to one of the keenest concert-going audiences in the world. This year, the standard is upheld (and perhaps even exceeded!) by the appearance of greats such as pianist Evgeny Kissin, appearing for the first time in Finland, and legendary mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, who will perform a selection of 17th century madrigals. Finland’s own considerable talents in the field will be represented by a Sibelius cycle from Leif Segerstam and the Tapiola Sinfonietta.

Night of the Arts

One of the festival’s highlights each year is “Night of the Arts” – a phenomenon which, I believe, is unique to Finland (prove me wrong if you can!) Basically, cultural institutions such as museums, art galleries, theatres and bookshops are open to the public all night, and the city centre is dominated by a vast number of performances, events and happenings. This year, “Night of the Arts” falls on Friday the 27th of August. Don’t miss out on this unique extravaganza: the breadth of activities defies detailed description. Simply rest assured that there really is something for everyone on show!