INFO
Opening hours
The festival will be held from Wednesday to Sunday 6–10 January 2016. All works will be displayed between 5 pm and 10 pm without interruption.
Age limit
With the exception of its evening clubs, the festival is open to visitors of all ages. The Lux Helsinki clubs at Bar Loose and 'Why join the navy when you can be a pirate' have an age limit of 18 years. Partner restaurants may also have their own age limits.
Entrance
The festival and side programme are free of charge. An exception is the Lux Helsinki Symposium event for professionals, which is by invitation only.
Food
Street food will be available on Senate Square and Annankatu. You should take cash with you. Street food stalls are open daily from 5 pm to 10 pm. For more information on the caterers, see the Food pages.
The restaurants and cafés involved in the event have come up with some Lux Helsinki special offers! For special offers and restaurant opening times, see the Food pages.
Cashpoints
Cashpoints can be found close to the event area in places such as: the railway station, Mikonkatu, Yliopistonkatu, the corner between Annankatu and Bulevardi, and the Kamppi Centre. Find the nearest cashpoint: http://otto.fi/missa-otto (in Finnish)
Toilets
During the festival, additional toilets can be found in Senate Square and the Old Church Park. You can also use the toilets of the two Lux Helsinki venues, Ateneum Art Museum and Annantalo.
Transport connections
An estimated 40,000 visitors will visit the festival each day. We recommend that you arrive at the festival by public transport, bicycle or on foot. You can begin viewing the light artworks at the Ateneum Art Museum (next to Railway Square, address Kaivokatu 2), or at Annantalo (next to the Kamppi Centre, address Annankatu 30). The metro and several trains, trams and buses go to Railway Square. You can reach the Kamppi Centre by metro, by trams 2 and 9, and on several buses.
View the Helsinki Region Transport Journey Planner for connections.
Parking
There are several car parks close to the festival area, by the railway station, Kamppi and Kluuvi. Read more: Parking garages
During the festival, some streets will be closed from 4.30 pm to 10.30 pm. The section of Yliopistonkatu between Fabianinkatu and Unioninkatu will be closed, as will the section of Annankatu between Eerikinkatu and Lönnrotinkatu. Traffic will be directed on both streets.
Good bike parking can be found on Mikonkatu and Keskuskatu on both sides of the Ateneum Art Museum, and on both sides of the Kamppi Centre on Urho Kekkosen katu and Salomoninkatu.
Accommodation
Information on accommodation options in Helsinki can be found on the Visit Helsinki pages.
What to wear
We recommend that you dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes for the festival. It is worth bringing rainproof clothes in case of rain.
Lux Helsinki café
During the festival, Aschan Café Jugend will serve as the official Lux Helsinki Café, where you can meet other visitors. Works by artist Ishmail Sandstroem will be on display at the café. In addition, a panel discussion on the theme of light and moderated by Radio Helsinki will be held on Thursday, 7 January at 7.30 pm.
Information points
Helsinki Tourist Information will serve as an information point. In addition, the Lux Helsinki information point will be available from 6 to 10 January during the festival in the lobby of the Ateneum Art Museum.
You can pick up copies of the festival's printed brochure (from Monday 4 January onwards) and obtain further details on events to be held in Helsinki from the information points.
Download an electronic route map onto your device from this link. You can download the map onto your device in advance, so that it also functions on your browser when offline. You can find more information of the installations, the restaurants and the cafés by clicking the numbers in the map.
Print a map out for yourself (pdf)
- In Finnish
- In Swedish
- In English
- In Russian
We recommend printing the map in advance: smartphones tend to run out of power faster than usual when it’s cold.
Helsinki Tourist Information
Pohjoisesplanadi 19
Opening times before the festival: Mon to Fri 9 am to 6 pm and Sat to Sun 10 am to 4 pm.
During the festival – from 6 to 10 January – Wed to Fri 9 am to 10 pm and Sat to Sun 10 am to 10 pm.
Ateneum Art Museum
Kaivokatu 2
During the festival 6–10 January 2016, from 5 pm to 10 pm.
The installations at the Ateneum Art Museum
The Ateneum Art Museum will be the venue for three installations that can be seen without paying the museum’s entrance free: Candy House, Frontiers and 11,5 Hz. The exhibitions of the museum, including the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibition, are open during the festival from 10 am to 8 pm (tickets 13/11 €). Also the Ateneum Shop and the Restaurant Tablo will be open every day during the festival until 10 pm.
Guided tours
Guided walking tours will be arranged on each day of the festival: in Finnish at 6 pm, in Swedish at 6.30 pm, in English at 7 pm and in Russian at 7.30 pm. Tours are free of charge.
Tickets must be collected in advance from Helsinki Tourist Information (from Saturday 2 January onwards). Tours will depart from outside the main doors of the Ateneum Art Museum. Max. duration 2 hours.
Helsinki Tourist Information
Pohjoisesplanadi 19
Opening times before the festival: Mon–Fri 9 am to 6 pm and Sat–Sun 10 am to 4 pm.
During the festival – from 6 to 10 January – Wed to Fri 9 am to 10 pm and Sat to Sun 10 am to 10 pm.
Festival map
More information about the festival can be found on the electronic route map. You can download the map onto your device in advance, so that it also functions on your browser when offline. You can find more information of the installations, the restaurants and the cafés by clicking the numbers in the map.
Printed copies of the map are available from the festival's information points from Monday 4 January onwards.
You can also print out a map for yourself (pdf)
- In Finnish
- In Swedish
- In English
- In Russian
We recommend printing the map in advance: smartphones tend to run out of power faster than usual when it’s cold.
Closure of streets to traffic
Yliopistonkatu (the section between Fabianinkatu and Unioninkatu) will be closed between 4.30 pm and 10.30 pm during the event from 6 to 10 January. Traffic direction will be provided.
Annankatu (the section between Lönnrotinkatu and Eerikinkatu) will be closed between 4.30 pm and 10.30 pm during the event from 6 to 10 January. Traffic direction will be provided.
Good to know during the run-up to the festival
A tour of all the light artworks from the Ateneum Art Museum to Annantalo will take around two hours.
We recommend that you begin the tour at the Ateneum Art Museum. The dramaturgy works best this way round and the viewing direction is to the right as you walk by.
Feedback
To provide feedback on the festival, use this form.
For the media
Contact information for the media can be found here.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why is the festival being held during Epiphany in early January?
Helsinki is a city of many events held throughout the year. During the winter, events are also held outside Christmas, New Year and the winter holiday. By scheduling the festival after the Christmas holidays, we aim to make it accessible to all Helsinki residents, other Finns around the country and tourists visiting the city at the beginning of the new year. People at work during the week can enjoy the festival on Epiphany 6 January and at the weekend on 9–10 January.
Why does the festival last just five days?
During Lux Helsinki, the key issue is to achieve a festive, communal atmosphere created by people gathering together in the centre of the city. Lux Helsinki is not an exhibition. A ten-day long version of the event was tried a few years ago, but this failed to generate a festival atmosphere. If the event were longer, the daily costs associated with technology and security would grow.
What is the history of Lux Helsinki?
Helsinki has being arranging a light-based event of some kind for over 20 years, since 1995. The Valon Voimat (Forces of Light) festival was arranged in November from 1995 to 2009. When it began, this was one of Europe's first fire and light festivals.
Following this, the Valon Vuodenaika (Season of Light) festival was held in January in 2009–2011, forming the basis of Lux Helsinki. A festival by the name of Lux Helsinki has been held since 2012.
Who is behind Lux Helsinki?
The festival is organised by the City of Helsinki. Päivi Meros, an Event Producer with Visit Helsinki, will coordinate the event on behalf of the City of Helsinki and Sun Effects Oy will be in charge of production. The festival’s Artistic Director is Ilkka Paloniemi and the Technical Director is Matti Jykylä. Pink Eminence Ltd. is in charge of event communications and social media activities.
Who chooses the works and side programme?
Planning begins as soon as the preceding Lux Helsinki has ended. The works are selected on the basis that around half are specially commissioned works and half are familiar from international light festivals. About half of the artists are from abroad and half from Finland. The works are chosen by Artistic Director Ilkka Paloniemi, Technical Director Matti Jykylä and representatives of Visit Helsinki.
An open call inviting the public to suggest light-based content for the side programme was arranged for the first time for the 2016 festival. Some of these proposals were added to the programme.
How can I suggest works or side programme features for future festivals?
Proposals for artworks and side programme events are welcome at any time: eventoffice at hel.fi
We go through the proposals and store them. We are not seeking proposals for any particular location at the moment. Unfortunately, we cannot respond to or give feedback on all proposals.
How does the City of Helsinki decide on the kinds of events to be arranged?
Visit Helsinki/Helsinki Marketing Ltd runs events commissioned by the City of Helsinki and in accordance with the city's strategy. The strategy defines such events as an important part of the city's activities. The city's so-called own events have been arranged by a unit established in 2008 and are now commissioned by Helsinki Marketing Ltd. Events in Helsinki are also organised by agencies such as the Sports Department, the Building Control Department, the Cultural Office, the Youth Department and the Helsinki City Museum.
What kinds of events does the city want to organise?
To foster a sense of community, the City of Helsinki aims to arrange the widest possible range of events around the city. All events arranged by the City of Helsinki are free and open to all, offering a range of experiences to every resident of the city.
How is the amount of visitor calculated?
The number of visitors is on a par with the previous year. The total number of visitors is based on the audience estimates made by security stewards once per hour every day for each work of art. Security stewards use hand-held counters when assessing the turnout. It is impossible to give an exact number of visitors for a free event in the urban space.
