Over 270,000 audience members at Helsinki City Theatre in the 2025–2026 season
Helsinki City Theatre welcomed more than 270,000* audience members during the 2025–2026 season. In addition, over 23,100 people took part in audience engagement activities and various events. Across the theatre’s five stages, a total of 764 performances and 32 different productions were presented, including 17 premieres. The autumn 2026 programme has also attracted strong interest from theatregoers. Finland’s largest theatre has continued to advance its environmental work as well.
“Once again, the success of our performance year is thanks to a large community of skilled, committed and creative people. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to our entire staff, our artists, partners and audiences. Alongside creating powerful and memorable productions, we have taken determined steps towards more sustainable production methods and developed our operations in line with Teatterin vihreä kirja. This spring, we published our Ilmastotiekartan vuosille 2026–2030, which will guide our development work. We want to ensure that theatre not only reflects the world but also plays a responsible part in it,” says Theatre Director Kari Arffman.
As in the previous year, the most popular production of the performance year was Moulin Rouge! Musikaali (50 000 spectators), which has remained in the Main Stage programme since autumn 2024 and brought its total attendance to almost 170 000. The spring 2026 Main Stage premiere of Komedia pankkiryöstöstä also proved popular (34 400), as did Veljeni Leijonamieli (19 700), which likewise continued from the previous performance year and attracted a total audience of 45 900.
Both Arena Stage premieres drew enthusiastic audiences: Hildur (26 700), based on Satu Rämö’s bestselling crime novel, in the spring, and Sandy Rustin’s comedy Sutinaa ja säätöä (23 800) in the autumn. The highlight of the Small Stage programme was the joyful and heart-warming Kurtturuusut (10 000), which will remain in the programme this autumn.
At the Swedish-language Lilla Teatern, the most popular production was the Édouard Louis adaptation Våldets historia (3 600), while Studio Pasila’s most-watched production was the musical play for the whole family Kuka kaappasi auringon (11 367). Audiences also flocked to Out of Order (3 413), Fernando Melo’s gravity-defying work for the theatre’s dance company, Helsinki Dance Company.
The two productions on the contemporary performance stage attracted a combined audience of 2 300. The audience favourite was little_star95 – ooksä online? (1 623), a dive into the internet of the 2000s that has also become the most-watched production in the stage’s history.
Autumn premieres capture audiences’ interest – almost 80 000 tickets sold
The autumn 2026 programme is also attracting strong interest. Almost 80 000 tickets have already been sold for the autumn performances, and the current occupancy rate across all stages is 44 per cent.
The autumn season begins in August with Birds of Paradise at Studio Pasila, a work inspired by mating dances and professional wrestling, followed by the eagerly awaited musical & Julia on the Main Stage, featuring hit songs from the 1990s and early 2000s.
Four of September’s five premieres are world premieres of Finnish works: Niina Lahtinen and Joonas Nordman’s new comedy Kotijoukot at the Arena Stage; an adaptation of Iida Turpeinen’s bestselling novel Elolliset at the Small Stage; Lilla Teatern’s contemporary satire De obehöriga; the hilarious children’s musical play Fretti Mercury etsii onnea, created by a top creative team, at Studio Pasila; and Nauravan kulkurin tarina, a musical drama about the life of Vesa-Matti Loiri, on the Main Stage.
The undisputed dance event of the autumn is the return of Kenneth Kvarnström’s iconic 30-year-old dance classic no-no, premiering at the Small Stage on 19 November.
The long-running audience favourite Kiviä taskussa, which has been performed more than a thousand times, will remain in the programme until November. Kurtturuusut and Club act!one will also continue during the autumn season.
The autumn will also feature a guest performance of Iikka Kivi – Protestinauru stand up show at the Arena Stage in November.
The remaining autumn 2026 premieres will be announced in August.
Helsinki City Theatre’s 2025 annual report is available on the theatre’s website:
Vuosikertomus 2025
Årsberättelse 2025
Annual report 2025
*For comparison, attendance figures for previous performance years: 2024–2025: 327 000, 2023–2024: 267 000.
Helsinki City Theatre ticket sales and customer service by phone: (09) 394022, Mon–Fri 10–17. Ticket offices: Ensi linja 2, Mon–Fri 12–17; Eläintarhantie 5, Sat (on performance days) 11–18 and one hour before each performance (ticket offices closed for the summer from 16.5.-26.7.); and lippu.fi, Mon–Sat 9–19, Sun 12–16, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network/mobile charge), www.hkt.fi
Press release image: Kurtturuusut. Pictured: Sari Havas, Aino Seppo, Leenamari Unho and Helena Haaranen. Photo: Otto-Ville Väätäinen.
Further information, press ticket reservations and interview requests:
Communications Manager Kaisa Pelkonen, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788
Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja 2, 00530 Helsinki