World Village Festival in Suvilahti.
World Village Festival will be held in Suvilahti, Helsinki. Photo: Inez Kaukoranta.

World Village Festival starts tomorrow – courage as a theme

A fabulous festival summer kicks off this weekend (25–26 May) with World Village Festival in Suvilahti, Helsinki. The event will bring you vegetarian food, talks and discussions, ethically produced clothes, dance, workshops and street soccer – as well as dozens of other programme items and hundreds of exhibitor stands. With free admission for all, World Village Festival is expected to attract tens of thousands of people.

Taking the Music Stage for their first live appearances in Finland will be Emel, Dub FX feat. Mr. Woodnote, Puerto Candelaria and Las Karamba, as well as the Finnish artists and acts Antti Autio, Maija Kauhanen, Don Johnson Big Band, Hassan Maikal and Children’s concert Indaba.

Themes discussed on Speaker’s Stage include courage to take action in a country which is at war, to defend the rights of the oppressed, to fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, and to be proactive, take a stand and make a difference.

The Street Art Area will feature a two-hour salsa party, yoga, Thai dance, and puppet and mask theatre. YMCA Peace & Sport will offer street soccer, face painting, bingo and freestyling for young people in particular. Thousands of books and lots of different circular economy actors will be found in the Books and Recycling World.

The Kids’ Corner will feature a variety of workshops reflecting the festival’s theme: Courage. The Red Shoes (Zapatos Rojos) installation will spur festivalgoers to think about violence experienced by women around the world and the Seed Rises exhibition to remember Jyri Jaakkola and Bety Cariño, the activists who lost their lives while on a human rights mission.

The festival’s 230 exhibitors will also offer a diverse range of perspectives, products, food and action from Finland and around the world. Visit the festival’s website for the stands and food vendors, the programme and the festival site map. World Village Festival in Suvilahti, Helsinki, 25–26 May 2024 themed on Courage. Free admission and open for all.

More information

Communications: Nelli Korpi, nelli.korpi@fingo.fi, +358 50 317 6698

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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.