SuomiAreena
SuomiAreena, Finland
SuomiAreena is a concept that promotes the opportunity for every Finn to participate in the debate on social, economic, and political issues. It raises important topics and ideas for the whole society. SuomiAreena is the largest societal discussion festival in Finland. SuomiAreena – more solutions, fewer problems.
Purpose, vision and values
The purpose of SuomiAreena is to be an arena for democracy and freedom of speech. The festival raises socially important topics for discussion, opens up politics in an understandable way, and presents prospects for the future. In SuomiAreena, people can create a vision for what Finland and the world should be like in the future. SuomiAreena also highlights companies that act as trendsetters in different industries and offers opportunities for networking and participating in discussions.
SuomiAreena festival week in Pori
The 4-day festival takes place in Pori at the end of June. In SuomiAreena, you can meet, mingle and exchange ideas with everyone in urban Pori. In 2024, SuomiAreena will take place on June 25-28. Pori is located 245 km northwest from Helsinki and is the 10th largest city in Finland with approximately 85,000 inhabitants.
Organisational structure
SuomiAreena was established in 2006 through initiatives from the Municipality of Pori and the Finnish media and TV company MTV. In June 2024, MTV and the Municipality of Pori together founded a new company, SuomiAreena Oy, which is responsible for organizing the festival in the future. The goal of the new company is to build SuomiAreena into an even more impressive entity that brings together the key players from society to discuss important topics.
A large scale of discussion organisers
Discussion events are organised by both private and governmental organisations, as well as political parties, NGOs, business companies, and other interest groups. Speakers range from politicians to musicians, from company leaders to sports stars.
In addition to discussion events, there are several other events such as sporting events (football tournament, Finnish baseball tournament), children’s events, as well as open-door events. SuomiAreena also encompasses music, art, theatre, sports, architecture, etc. All the parliamentary parties have slots on the main stage at their disposal and share a tent in the central square.
Programme
SuomiAreena calls for applicants to submit their discussion ideas and selects the suitable ones for the programme. SuomiAreena discussions are livestreamed and can be watched at any time online at MTV Katsomo.