Current affairs

Hurrah for a Good Start! is the name of an upcoming exhibition at the Virka Gallery, located in City Hall. It features the story of the so-called "maternity pack" - a big box bursting with clothes and other necessary items that is distributed free to all families with newborn children - from the 1930s to the present day. June 29th-September 2nd, 2012.

The island fortress of Suomenlinna, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is hugely popular among tourists and locals alike. Fifteen minutes by ferry from Helsinki’s Market Square, its 80 hectares form an ideal destination for an excursion lasting several hours or a whole day.

Kotka Maritime Festival which is held from 26th to 29th July, is Finland’s largest maritime carnival, organised in an authentic port area, around the architectural pearl Vellamo Maritime Center.

Our summertime video series: a look at life in the capital during the brightest time of the year.

When summer hits Helsinki, you don’t have to leave the capital to find a good beach. Grab your towel and your sunscreen and get going.

Children must hold a passport of their own beginning from 26 June 2012. Children can no longer travel abroad with their names listed on a parent’s or guardian’s passport.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the first opera festival held in Savonlinna, this top international event is presenting a ground-breaking opera produced collaboratively by an online community of opera buffs around the world.

In the middle of Helsinki, the yard between the Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture is transformed into a spacious, covered terrace with a café and a stage. This is the Pavilion, the heart of Helsinki’s year as 2012 World Design Capital.

The beginning of summer is celebrated at midsummer, which is the lightest time of the year in Finland . Earlier Midsummer was celebrated on June 24th, but in 1955 the date was moved to fall on the first Saturday after 19th of June.

Marking her 150th birthday, Finnish museums honour Helene Schjerfbeck, a bold artist who was ahead of her time.