Huvilanranta offers a free programme and a changing restaurant selection for over five weeks

Huvilanranta, Helsinki Festival’s festival centre, opens already on Friday, 28 July. There will be a varied free programme, including themed club nights, acoustic gigs, children’s activities and pop-up events. A changing restaurant selection ensures a wide offering of food and drinks at Huvilanranta.

Last year, Huvilanranta, a large festival centre open to the public, was opened around the iconic Helsinki Festival venue of Huvila. The terrace area, designed by Finlandia Prize for Architecture winners JKMM Architects, opens three weeks before the beginning of Helsinki Festival and remains open until the end of the festival. Huvilanranta also has a Helsinki Festival service desk that sells tickets to the festival concerts and performances.

A broad programme selection already three weeks before Helsinki Festival

The free Huvilanranta offers a broad programme selection for all citizens of Helsinki even before Helsinki Festival begins, from 28 July until 16 August. During Wednesday and Thursday evenings in August, visitors to Huvilanranta will be entertained by danceable disco music at the Under the Sun club and changing guest DJs at the We Are Your Friends club, featuring the likes of DJ Orkidea and Roberto Rodriguez. Friday and Saturday nights dive into the world of different music genres with both DJ music and acoustic gigs – for example, on 28 July, there is the concert of Trash Drumming, who use scrap iron and recycling material as instruments, and on 29 July, the Jazz & Conversations event guides the audience into the gentle world of jazz with discussions and playing in the company of Olli Ojajärvi and Mitja Tuurala. On Sundays, Skidit Disko offers a participatory and experiential show for children.

Changing restaurant selection and tailored taste experiences

The food and drink selection of the Huvilanranta grand terrace is the responsibility of a range of several restaurants with menus tailored for Huvilanranta. From the opening of the terrace until the start of Helsinki Festival, that is, 28 July – 16 August, visitors to Huvilanranta will be served by Satama Bar & Bistro, chosen as Helsinki’s best lunch restaurant, Just Vege, famous for ample and filling vegan dishes, and Korean street dining restaurant POCHA!.

The restaurant selection changes on the Night of the Arts, 17 August, which kicks off Helsinki Festival, and taste experiences at Huvilanranta will be served up until the end of the festival by Moroccan restaurant Casa Moro, wild food specialist Skutta and the pop-up restaurant De Leon, run by the creators of Bar Goose, which is known for inventive and simple pasta dishes. Bar Pommes Frites Powered by Mummon continues to serve surprising French fries dishes for as long as the terrace is open.

Huvila concerts begin on the Night of the Arts

Helsinki Festival begins on the Night of the Arts on Thursday, 17 August, and the opening night of the Huvila concert season offers a fresh view into Finnish pop music with Yeboyah, F, Hassan Maikal, Pesso, Yrjänä, Figaro and DJ Renaz Ebrahimi. The special-length concert begins earlier than normal.

Huvila’s 18-night concert season consists of international stars representing a wide variety of different music genres and Finnish artists celebrating their special days.

Huvilanranta is open 28 July – 16 August 3 p.m. – 11 p.m. and 17 August – 3 September 1 p.m. – 11 p.m. Helsinki Festival is celebrated 17 August – 3 September 2023. Tickets to all performances and concerts are being sold by Ticketmaster or lippu.fi.

Helsinki Festival’s main partners are Helsingin Sanomat and Elisa, the sponsor is Accenture and service partners include Akun tehdas, Helsinki Bryggeri, Heku, Marski by Scandic and Renault.