Held for the second time in Suvilahti, Helsinki, World Village Festival was attended by 20,000 people on Saturday and 24,000 on Sunday, with programme from the Speaker’s Stage viewed online by 1,000 people. Festivalgoers were provided with memorable music, inspiring talks and discussions, vegetarian food from around the world, many kinds of other programme and hundreds of exhibitor stands. The festival theme – Courage – could be seen and heard everywhere.
An event for the entire family, the 24th World Village Festival kicked off Helsinki’s festival summer in a sunny atmosphere.
– The festival went really well and pulled in a lot of people. On Saturday, the prospect of a thunderstorm might have slightly affected the attendance figure, but on Sunday the sunshine and heatwave brought the crowds in, says World Village Festival Communications Manager Nelli Korpi.
On Saturday, Don Johnson Big Band, Puerto Candelaria and Dub FX feat. Mr. Woodnote drew large audiences to the Music Stage. On Sunday, Finnish artists Antti Autio and Maija Kauhanen attracted keen interest and the international acts, Emel and Las Karamba, put on fabulous shows.
On Sunday in particular, the Speaker’s Stage was filled up to full capacity a lot of the time. Popular programme items included the conversation featuring Laura Haimila and Emmi Nuorgam and the visit by President Tarja Halonen. The mini-election panel of EU election candidates also pulled in a full audience. On Saturday, the Speaker’s Stage audience was filled to the max by Ukrainian war journalist Illia Ponomarenko.
All of the festival elements were popular, including the Market of Possibilities, the Books and Recycling World, the Street Art Area and the exhibitor tents in the middle of the festival site. The workshops in the Kids’ Corner were full almost all the time, and YMCA Peace & Sport provided fun things to do for people of all ages. The Funky Amigos Terrace Party rocked the decks between the live shows on the main stage. The streamed Talks and Discussions programme was viewed by around 1,000 people over the weekend, and the stream will also be available online after the festival.
Atmosphere at the festival was mainly peaceful, but one Talks and Discussions programme item was interrupted for a moment in the early evening by a demonstration relating to the Palestinian situation. The festival was criticised for absence of programme themed on Palestine.
– We understand people’s anguish in this world situation that’s in many ways difficult and distressing. Attention to Palestine has been drawn in contexts including Music Stage artists talking to the audience, at exhibitor stands and in other programme items. We’ve heard the pertinent feedback and organised a Palestine-themed discussion in a quick time frame. Despite multiple attempts, we were unfortunately unable to find a speaker with a Palestinian background to feature in the programme, says Communications Director Salla Peltonen from the festival organiser, Fingo.
Next year, the festival will be organised in Suvilahti, Helsinki, on 24– 25 May 2025. The theme will be announced this summer.
For more information about the festival, interview requests and photos, please contact
World Village Festival Communications Manager Nelli Korpi, nelli.korpi@fingo.fi, +358 50 317 6698
For more information about the demonstration and criticism, please contact Fingo Communications Director Salla Peltonen, salla.peltonen@fingo.fi, +358 50 317 6710
Festival photos 2024
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World Village Festival is Finland’s leading event for global action for the whole family, an admission free cultural festival, and a trade fair for sustainable development. The event will be organised in the Suvilahti event venue, Helsinki, in 25–26 May 2024 with Courage as the theme. Festival’s core values are diversity, equality, responsibility, and communality. The event is expected to attract around 50,000 festivalgoers. Admission to all events is free. The festival organiser is Finnish Development NGOs Fingo and the main partners are Finn Church Aid, the European Commission Representation in Finland, the European Parliament Liaison Office in Finland, Radio Helsinki and Maailman Kuvalehti magazine.
