Oulu is the European Capital of Culture for the year 2026, bringing together over 500 cultural actors and garnering international attention to the northern Finnish city of 216,000. Last week, the Oulu2026 team travelled to Brussels to present their upcoming programme to international press, Members of the European Parliament and cultural professionals.
The European Capitals of Culture 2026 held a press conference at the Press Centre of the Council of the European Union on Tuesday, 4th of November. Piia Rantala-Korhonen, CEO of Oulu2026, introduced next year’s programme and vision, stating that big metropoles have had their moment and now is the time to show that “interesting things can also happen in small cities”. Hidden within the festivities is also a wish to shift Oulu’s image away from a cold tech city into a diverse northern culture hub.
Thousands of events in the wider Oulu region
From Oulu2026 one can expect a multidisciplinary array of cultural events, from circus and dance with Faravid’s Land and gastronomy ventures under the Arctic Food Lab trademark to international arts cooperation with Fotografiska Tallinn, architectural highlights with AaltoSiilo, and even a Finnish-stereotype-entertaining musical Snowball. Oulu2026 is also the official partner for the Finnish Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, featuring artist Jenna Sutela, currently exhibiting at Stroom Den Haag, in the Netherlands.
Oulu2026 launch vent in Brussels. Photo by Antonette de Groot.
The year also promises to highlight living Sámi culture and Indigenous voices. In one of the promotional videos, curator and artist Inga-Wiktoria Påve even states that Oulu is, in a way, part of Sapmi – a refreshing flip of the script where the Sámi culturally claim space in a Finnish area, and not the other way around.
Indeed, exciting cultural programming such as the world premiere of a new Sámi opera Ovllá, as well as diverse events centred around nature and anchored to seasonal changes, are fostering rich conversations between the arts and the environment. These works also relate to the year’s theme “Cultural Climate Change”. In the spirit of the theme, Rantala-Korhonen stressed that culture is not a cost, but an investment in the local community, highlighting the regional impact that the European Capitals of Culture project has. The web of events will spread beyond the immediate Oulu region to 39 partner municipalities across Northern Finland, creating together over 1000 cultural events throughout the year.
Oulu is not alone – Trenčín2026
Oulu’s sister city of culture’s deputy mayor Patrik Žák and Trenčín2026’s CEO Stanislav Krajčí were also present for the shared launch events to promote their town’s upcoming year as the capital of culture 2026. While much smaller than Oulu, Trenčín is going all out with its year in the spotlight by reinventing and reusing existing places; making an Art Deco style synagogue a venue for the Contemporary Jewish Art Biennale, transforming an old railway bridge into a two-story communal space and boulevard, and bringing art into mundane spaces of waiting such as the city hall or a hospital lobby.
There will also be some collaboration between the two cities throughout the year. Already at the Oulu2026 Opening Festival on January 16th-18th, Trenčín will be represented in a “European lounges” event, which may be especially interesting for the Finland-based audience members still on the fence about booking their tickets to Slovakia.
Finnish and Slovak performances at the Brussels launch event
On the evening of November 4th, the European Capitals of Culture hosted their launch event for 2026, Cultural Climate of Curiosity, at Plein Publiek.
Performance SILLOIN // THEN by Antti Uimonen and Viivi Forsman at Oulu2026 launch event in Brussels. Photo by Antonette de Groot.
The evening programme began with immersive 360 digital artwork by Slovakian new media artist Boris Vitázek, enveloping the room in sound and light. This was followed by SILLOIN // THEN, an interactive performance by Antti Uimonen and Viivi Forsman that moved up the venue’s staircase and among the guests, encouraging people to engage in social interaction. Choreographed by Julian Owusu and the performers, with video projections by Kalle Jurvelin, edited by Alex Fränti, and music by Eetu Vanhatupa, the performance was a demo for the project Xulu202x, set to premiere in February 2026 in Oulu. Combining dance art, Hip Hop culture and Future Studies, Xulu202x explores collective visions of Oulu’s future, aiming to give space to a variety of voices, especially to those of marginalized groups of youth and young adults.
The evening celebrations were hosted by Johanna Råman, Director of the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux. Reflecting on the evening, Råman remarked, “We are honoured to collaborate on this event in Brussels celebrating the power of creativity, innovation, and art to connect communities.” Rantala-Korhonen and Krajčí presented their respective cities’ impressive programmes for the upcoming year, and the evening concluded with drinks and networking accompanied by a music performance by one of Slovakia’s most celebrated musical acts, jazz duo Lash&Grey.
The event was organised in collaboration with the Permanent Representations of Finland and Slovakia to the EU and the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux.
Text by Oscar Arminen.
Photos by Antonette de Groot.