More than a hundred artists received a congratulatory message – and a couple of hours later a message of regret that the grant was not awarded

The Oulu2026 cultural programme accidentally sent the wrong message to more than 100 artists.

The Oulu2026 cultural programme sent a congratulatory message to more than 100 applicants this morning, informing them that their programme proposal has been accepted as part of the cultural programme for next year’s European Capital of Culture year.

A couple of hours later, I received an apology message saying that the applicant had not received the grant they had applied for.

– This is very annoying and disappointing when you first receive a positive message and then immediately afterwards a message saying that you have not received the grant. We very much regret this.

Yle has seen the messages received by one applicant, between two and a half hours. The latter post promised that the applicant could make his proposals, if desired, into the Capital of Culture year without a grant.

There were a total of more than 200 artists or teams.

*Were you one of those who received a message from the cultural program in vain? You can be in touch with anna.polo@yle.fi.*