Newsletter
Oulu2026 Newsletter
Subscribe to our Newsletter and get updates on local cultural personalities, stories, press releases and opportunities for international artists.
Newsletters 2024
June / 2024: Summer highlights in Oulu2026 region, Venice Art Biennale 2026 exhibition to Oulu, Oulu2026 Stage at Qstock Festival, Fascinating northern stories: Sound of the North route
April / 2024: Tales of Tar, Sápmi Triennale, Open Call: Solstice Festival 2024, Delta Life, Culture Next conference, Guide for sustainable events, TMW Oulu2026 presents.
Interested in volunteering?
We welcome all participants to register as volunteers, aka Cultural Ambassadors. At the moment we have a limited amount of volunteer positions open. Closer to 2026, we have numerous interesting tasks opening up related to e.g. event production, communication, information, and guidance. We also organise training and own programme for volunteers.
Feel free to leave your contacts with the same form as subscribing to our newsletter. We will reach out to our network as our programme starts to take shape. Welcome aboard!
For more information:
Heli Metsäpelto
Head of Community
heli.metsapelto@oulu2026.eu
Latest
Northern Lights
Finland is one of the best places in the world for viewing Northern Lights (aurora borealis). The probability of catching them is highest in Lapland but Oulu is not far behind. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, we can see Northern Lights about 25% of...
Take part in a survey focusing on stories and places in Oulu
What kind of postcard would you send from Oulu? What is the heart of your neighbourhood? Take part in a survey! We are looking for interesting, intriguing, or even forgotten stories and places to bring up through arts and culture. Share your stories by taking part in...
Nearly 300 projects submitted in the Oulu2026 Open Call
Oulu is a 2026 European Capital of Culture. The Oulu2026 cultural programme is mainly built through a series of Open Calls, the second of which closed on 9 December. In total, 274 applications from Finland and 20 other countries were received. Oulu and the entire...
Oulu powers up Lumo Light Festival to delight visitors with spectacular visual art despite energy crisis
In 2022, Lumo Light Festival brought light to Oulu for the tenth year. There were 20 fascinating light installations on show in the city centre and Hupisaaret Park from November 18 to November 20, drawing an estimated one hundred thousand visitors. Most people...
European Capital of Culture 2022 Kaunas attracts 2 Million visitors: Key Figures
Results from “Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022” indicate a successful year and a solid recovery from the pandemic with record visitors. Having attracted over 2 million visitors in 5 years, “Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022” can be named among the...
Oulu: the world’s tar capital
Today Oulu is internationally renowned as a high tech city: a major centre of competence and innovation in information and health technology. Two hundred years ago Oulu had a very different reputation. It was known as the tar capital of the world. “Whenever people ask...
Health and wellbeing – naturally
The Arctic Food Lab community keeps growing and has most recently been joined by the farm Linnunradan tila (Milky way's farm) from Tyrnävä. The farm specialises in growing hemp and raising alpacas. Among its Arctic Food Lab products are food products homemade in...
Final Open Call webinar 22nd Nov – Frequently Asked Questions
The last Open Call 2022 webinar focuses on Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Open Call process, the application system, funding, and activities related to the Capital of Culture. During the webinar, applicants are encouraged to ask questions from the Oulu2026...
Brave Hinterland – programme explores the local culture in Northern Finland
Episode 1: Kuhmo The first episode of Oulu2026’s Brave Hinterland – programme takes you to the eastern city of Kuhmo, one of 34 Oulu2026 regional partners. Known for its international Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, the boreal wilderness, timber, and culture, the host...
Oulu2026 Culture Personality: Rap artist Sana
Our cultural personality of the week is Sanna Rönnberg, better known to the audiences as Sana, under which name she has been making music since 2005. Sanna says that her dream of a career in music started when she was seven, when she first heard American rap on the...