Helsinki Pride Event
Helsinki Pride Parade
The Helsinki Pride Parade is a joyful, colorful, and loud demonstration for equality and diversity. In the parade, everyone has the right to be exactly who they are. In 2025, more than 100,000 people took part in the parade.
The parade will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2026. More information will be available on this page in spring 2026.
The parade will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2026. More information will be available on this page in spring 2026.
Helsinki Pride Park Festival
Helsinki Pride Week culminates in the traditional Park Festival, filled with encounters and amazing programming. In 2025, more than 50,000 visitors attended the Park Festival.
The Park Festival will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at Kaivopuisto. The Park Festival is free of charge. More information will be available on this page in spring 2026.
The Park Festival will be held on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at Kaivopuisto. The Park Festival is free of charge. More information will be available on this page in spring 2026.
History
The tradition of Pride parades in Finland began in 1981. At that time, the event was called Liberation Days, in line with the gay liberation movement. The highlights of the Liberation Days became the Saturday parade, a gathering in the park, and an evening celebration.
In the 1990s, the Liberation Days began to take on increasingly festive characteristics, and colorful balloons, props, and banners appeared in the parade. Around the turn of the millennium, the event was renamed Pride in line with international practice, and the first Helsinki Pride Week was celebrated in 2000. Since 2006, Helsinki Pride Week has been held every year.
Explore the historyIn the 1990s, the Liberation Days began to take on increasingly festive characteristics, and colorful balloons, props, and banners appeared in the parade. Around the turn of the millennium, the event was renamed Pride in line with international practice, and the first Helsinki Pride Week was celebrated in 2000. Since 2006, Helsinki Pride Week has been held every year.
Pride House
Pride House is the event hub and meeting place of Pride Week, warmly welcoming all members of our community and allies. Pride House brings together people, performances, workshops, and a wide range of other programming throughout Helsinki Pride Week.
Pride House also hosts the Helsinki Pride information point and Shop.
br>We will reveal the location of Pride House and more information during spring 2026! Pride Housessa palvelevat myös Helsinki Priden infopiste ja Shop.
br>Paljastamme Pride Housen sijainnin ja lisätietoja kevään 2026 aikana!
br>We will reveal the location of Pride House and more information during spring 2026! Pride Housessa palvelevat myös Helsinki Priden infopiste ja Shop.
br>Paljastamme Pride Housen sijainnin ja lisätietoja kevään 2026 aikana!
Accessibility
Helsinki Pride community events are accessible. This year, the official Helsinki Pride programme calendar is being updated with accessibility in mind. The programme calendar brings together LGBTQIA+ programmes from different organizers throughout Pride Month. Going forward, in addition to being LGBTQIA+ inclusive, events must be accessible to be included in the calendar (we require accessible entrances, movement within event spaces, and restroom facilities). The Helsinki Pride community aims to actively engage in improving accessibility, and all feedback is welcome: info@pride.fi
.
All official Helsinki Pride accessible event venues will undergo a sensory assessment, and autism-friendly arrival instructions will be provided. Additionally, communication cards will be available at Helsinki Pride events, and our volunteers are trained to support people experiencing sensory overload. Pride House and the Park Celebration will include calm and sensory-friendly spaces. Accessibility information will be available on this page closer to the event.
All official Helsinki Pride accessible event venues will undergo a sensory assessment, and autism-friendly arrival instructions will be provided. Additionally, communication cards will be available at Helsinki Pride events, and our volunteers are trained to support people experiencing sensory overload. Pride House and the Park Celebration will include calm and sensory-friendly spaces. Accessibility information will be available on this page closer to the event.
Helsinki Pride’s theme for 2026: Vapaus kasvaa / Growing with Pride
No one should have to wait until adulthood to feel proud of who they are. Every child and young person has the right to grow up in peace and become their authentic self. For LGBTQIA+ youth, however, this freedom to grow is not a given; it requires active efforts from both the adults around them and from other young people.
We in the Helsinki Pride Community stand up for the right of LGBTQIA+ youth to grow surrounded by joy, pride, and a sense of belonging—free from discrimination, fear, hate speech, and violence.
Working with LGBTQIA+ youth has been a core part of the Helsinki Pride Community's mission for over 10 years. In 2026, we will bring the voices and rights of LGBTQIA+ youth to the very center of Helsinki Pride. The Growing with Pride theme calls for an end to discrimination against LGBTQIA+ youth and celebrates them exactly as they are.
It is the responsibility of adults to create an environment where young people can be proud of themselves, just as they are. That is why we demand that the freedom to grow of LGBTQIA+ youth is safeguarded in schools, homes, hobbies, and workplaces. We demand that hate speech, bullying, discrimination, and violence directed at LGBTQIA+ youth be addressed systematically. We demand that the bodily integrity of intersex children is protected, and that the right to gender self-determination is extended to young people as well.
When a young person's freedom to grow is secured, they can proudly be themselves and grow toward their dreams. Because everyone has the right to grow with Pride.
We in the Helsinki Pride Community stand up for the right of LGBTQIA+ youth to grow surrounded by joy, pride, and a sense of belonging—free from discrimination, fear, hate speech, and violence.
Working with LGBTQIA+ youth has been a core part of the Helsinki Pride Community's mission for over 10 years. In 2026, we will bring the voices and rights of LGBTQIA+ youth to the very center of Helsinki Pride. The Growing with Pride theme calls for an end to discrimination against LGBTQIA+ youth and celebrates them exactly as they are.
It is the responsibility of adults to create an environment where young people can be proud of themselves, just as they are. That is why we demand that the freedom to grow of LGBTQIA+ youth is safeguarded in schools, homes, hobbies, and workplaces. We demand that hate speech, bullying, discrimination, and violence directed at LGBTQIA+ youth be addressed systematically. We demand that the bodily integrity of intersex children is protected, and that the right to gender self-determination is extended to young people as well.
When a young person's freedom to grow is secured, they can proudly be themselves and grow toward their dreams. Because everyone has the right to grow with Pride.