SuomiAreena is a concept that promotes the opportunity for every Finn to participate in the debate on social, economic and political issues. It is the largest societal discussion festival in Finland. SuomiAreena raises important topics and ideas for the whole society.

The purpose of SuomiAreena is to be an arena for democracy and freedom of speech. It raises important topics and themes by discussing current affairs and societal issues. In SuomiAreena, people can create a vision for what Finland and the world should be like in the future. Our values are openness, multi-voiced debate, equality, courage and relaxedness.

The festival takes place in Pori at the end of June. In 2024, SuomiAreena will take place on June 25-28.

In SuomiAreena you can meet, mingle and exchange ideas with everyone in urban Pori. Admission is free.

Finnish media company MTV and the City of Pori are the owners of SuomiAreena and they have been producing the festival together since 2006. MTV is responsible for the program and the Municipality of Pori takes care of the infrastructure.

In 2023, the festival consisted of over 230 events by nearly 250 organizers, and 1000 speakers formed the content of the discussions, including ministers of the Finnish Cabinet and members of the Finnish Parliament. The entire program is livestreamed at the MTV Katsomo website mtv.fi.

Discussion events are organized by both private and governmental organizations, as well as political parties, NGO´s, companies and other interest groups. Speakers range from politicians to musicians, and company leaders to sports stars.

The central square, Kansalaistori, hosts about 70 tents, where various groups can present their own deeds, themes and ideas. In addition to discussion events, there are several other events, such as sporting events (a football tournament, tennis tournament), children’s events and open-door events. SuomiAreena also encompasses music, art, theatre, sports, architecture, etc.

All the parliamentary parties have a slot on one of the main stages during the week. All parliamentary parties share a tent in the central square.

In 2024 SuomiAreena is looking for deeds, which make our society a better place to live in. SuomiAreena calls applicants, listens to the ideas and deeds, and selects the best applications for the program. All kinds of organizations can apply to organize a discussion event.

All SuomiAreena discussions are livestreamed, and they can be watched at any time at the MTV Katsomo website mtv.fi.

SuomiAreena is a part of European-wide network of democracy festivals, Democracy Festivals Association. The Association aims to nurture links between existing democracy festivals, inspire by example, and assist other similar emerging festivals.

Our common vision is to revitalise democracy by strengthening the link between a political system and citizens, and creating spaces for dialogue and participation. Democracy Festivals are the platforms for constructive political dialogue where people come together each summer to discuss how to improve their countries.