Over a thousand events to celebrate the Capital of Culture – this is what Oulu 2026 is all about

The Oulu 2026 year will include more than a thousand events in 40 municipalities, but no stars known to the general public were announced at the launch.

Next year’s European Capital of Culture, Oulu, has announced its programme for the Year. The programme does not include any of the world stars known to the general public, but the number of events is set to rise to over a thousand.

The Capital of Culture events will be spread over a wide geographical area, from Kainuu to the Swedish border, covering a total of 40 municipalities. The target number of visitors to the Oulu 2026 events is 2.5 million.

This article contains a few extracts from the Capital of Culture programme.

The Year is Changing event and opening festivities

Oulu’s cultural capital year will be opened in cooperation with Yle at the \”The year changes in Oulu\” event.

Shortly after the turn of the year, the three-day opening festivities of the capital of culture year are organized. The performers of the event will be announced in the fall.

Fotografiska and Kiasma exhibitions

Next year, Tallinn’s Fotografiska and the contemporary art museum Kiasma will bring their own exhibitions to Oulu.

Oulu’s main library, which has been under renovation for a long time, will open again next year, and the new museum and science center Tiima will open its doors in the autumn of 2026, the year of the capital of culture.

The peace machine is open all year round

One of the hallmark projects of the Oulu Capital of Culture Year is the Peace Machine, which is based on the book by the late artificial intelligence researcher Timo Honkela.

Ekho Collective implements an interactive artwork for Oulu’s town hall, which is open all year round. The audience can interact with the work and other experiencers through movement, hearing, language and cognition.

Sámi opera and theatre performance

– My wish is to participate in making a work of art that brings out the hidden aspects of the colonizing behavior of the states of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia towards the Sámi, says Johansen, who wrote the opera, in the theater’s announcement.

In addition, at the end of the year, Oulu will also see another premiere, Faravidi maa. In the piece that combines theater, dance and circus, a semi-fictional, mythical past is created for Oulu and Northern Finland.

A multidisciplinary overview of the birth of the city and culture

Light art and food culture

One of the main themes of Oulu 2026 is combining technology and art. In autumn, a ten-day art and technology festival Lumo Art is organized

A permanent public art route with the theme Climate Clock will also be built in Oulu during the capital of culture year, Oulu Kärpät will organize a winter classic match and northern food culture will be on display throughout the year.

The Oulu 2026 software will be announced in its entirety on September 4.

Oulu is the third Finnish capital of culture. Oulu shares the European title with the Slovak city of Trenčín. Previous Finnish capitals of culture have been Helsinki (2000) and Turku (2011).