Helsinki is currently facing a shortage of suitable venues for large events. If the Suvilahti and Garden Helsinki projects come to fruition, the capital would have as many as three indoor arenas for more than 10 000 spectators.
Helsinki is seen as a potential location for major concerts and other events, with up to two new arenas currently being planned for the capital.
Suvilahti could become the largest multi-purpose arena project in Northern Europe, with an event arena that would attract an audience of around 11 000-16 000 people.
The city is investing in an international setting for events, while at the same time many world-class artists seem to be skipping Finland altogether on their European tours.
If the world’s top artists only rarely come to Finland, is there really a need to build new, huge concert arenas here?
Live Nation is the largest event organizer operating in Finland.
Lavender says that she was happy to hear about the planned arena projects in Helsinki. According to him, there is a need in Finland for both outdoor and indoor event venues, larger than the current ones.
Artists like Finnish audiences, but money matters
Many artists leave Finland on tour, and according to Lavender, the reasons are largely financial.
Such are, for example, the profit from the sale of tickets in relation to the costs of organizing the concert, such as travel costs and travel time.
– In addition to the lack of concert venues, Finland’s geographical location is a significant factor in whether artists stop in Helsinki on their tours, he says.
Unlike our capital, Horsens is easily accessible from other parts of Denmark, Scandinavia and Central Europe. Helsinki, with more than half a million inhabitants, will be left out of Styles’ tour route this time as well.
Although the concerts of the biggest artists are a rarer treat for Helsinki, Lavender nevertheless states that the Finnish public is quite liked by the artists. There are constant discussions about future concerts.
There are plenty of events in Finland for new arenas, the events industry assures
– We have had a shortage of certain types of event venues in the capital region and in the wider country. There is currently no full-scale arena in use in Helsinki, and that is a huge problem for our industry, he says.
World-class performers are used to being seen in the capital’s Helsinki Arena, which holds 15,500 spectators. It has remained almost empty since Russia attacked Ukraine at the beginning of the year. Hall’s fate is still waiting to be resolved.
Sahlstedt believes in the international appeal of the capital region when it comes to events, because it is safe in Finland and it is possible to organize events in a responsible manner with regard to many environmental issues.
He mentions that the event industry has been growing strongly throughout the 2010s. Live Nation’s Lavender also believes in the profitability of the industry.
– I believe that when new frameworks are created for events and artists are given more opportunities to perform, it will increase the revenue of the event industry, says Lavender.