Cur­rent top­ics from Oulu

Watch the select­ed con­tes­tants show their deter­mi­na­tion to the whole world by get­ting into the Avan­to (Fin. ”ice hole”) and pitch­ing their start­up on Feb­ru­ary 26! The com­pe­ti­tion will be broad­cast­ed world­wide, and this year it is also open to the pub­lic in hon­or of Oulu2026.

A huge num­ber of peo­ple gath­ered at the Oulu2026 Open­ing Fes­ti­val to cel­e­brate the launch of the Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture year on 16–18 Jan­u­ary. Around 200 events across Oulu city cen­tre attract­ed over 250,000 vis­its, mak­ing it one of the largest events in Oulu’s his­to­ry.

Visidon was rec­og­nized as Oulu’s Most Inter­na­tion­al Employ­er of 2025. Visidon thrives on diver­si­ty and glob­al tal­ent. Watch the video to see what every­day work cul­ture is like at Visidon in Oulu!

U.S. news out­let CNN has high­light­ed Oulu in its list “Where to Trav­el in 2026 – The Best Places to Vis­it.” CNN describes Oulu as one of the world’s most inter­est­ing trav­el des­ti­na­tions this year, with par­tic­u­lar atten­tion giv­en to Oulu’s role as Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture 2026.

Meet Vy “Vivi” Nguyen, who trad­ed the vibrant streets of Viet­nam for the calm rhythm of Oulu. Today, she’s thriv­ing as a Com­put­er Sci­ence and Engi­neer­ing stu­dent – but just as often cycles, dances, and builds net­works.

An excep­tion­al moment was expe­ri­enced in Oulu at the turn of the year, as the Oulu2026: New Year’s Show brought the count­down to the Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture year to audi­ences across Fin­land. Sev­er­al thou­sand peo­ple gath­ered at the Oulu Hall, while the tele­vi­sion broad­cast reached more than one mil­lion view­ers.

Oulu is gain­ing remark­able inter­na­tion­al recog­ni­tion as a trav­el des­ti­na­tion! The new BBC arti­cle presents Oulu as a future Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture where an exten­sive cul­tur­al pro­gramme, north­ern nature and tech­nol­o­gy inter­twine in a dis­tinc­tive way.

Lucy was look­ing for adven­ture when she decid­ed to move to Fin­land for work, and she says she def­i­nite­ly found that in Oulu. Accom­pa­nied by her beloved dog Tilly, she packed her bags and head­ed north – from the busy city life she was used to in the UK to the calmer streets of Oulu.

Nation­al Geo­graph­ic has named Oulu among the world’s best des­ti­na­tions for 2026. Along­side leg­endary places such as the Alps, Bei­jing, Moroc­co, and Rio de Janeiro, this north­ern gem stands out with its cap­ti­vat­ing blend of cul­ture and nature.

Are you new in Oulu or plan­ning to move here? Inter­na­tion­al House Oulu’s Wel­come Office is here to sup­port you and make your life smoother in a new city. You can get help online or by book­ing an in-per­son appoint­ment. The ser­vice is free of charge.

When Ele­na Sor­munen, 45, moved to Oulu with just one suit­case, she left behind a suc­cess­ful career in Kyiv and start­ed every­thing from the begin­ning. Today, she works as a health cen­ter doc­tor.

The Lumo Light Fes­ti­val, organ­ised by the City of Oulu, will once again light up Oulu from Novem­ber 21 to 23. This year’s pro­gramme has an excep­tion­al­ly inter­na­tion­al flavour, with a total of 10 works cre­at­ed by artists from across Europe.

Meet Mako­to, a fam­i­ly man from Japan who now calls Oulu home. In this video, Mako­to shares his expe­ri­ence of relo­cat­ing to Oulu, talks about the sup­port avail­able, and how eas­i­ly his chil­dren were able to find school places in Oulu.

In just four months’ time, Oulu will be Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture! The Oulu2026 pro­gramme will place the North firm­ly at the cen­tre of Europe’s cul­tur­al map. Already over 1,000 events are list­ed in the offi­cial cal­en­dar, with fur­ther addi­tions to fol­low.

Mia Chen focus­es on chil­dren’s learn­ing appli­ca­tions in her master’s stud­ies, while Yomal Fer­nan­do spe­cialis­es in dis­ease pre­ven­tion. Oulu has made such a good impres­sion on them that they both hope to work in Fin­land in the future.

The Lat­vian air­line air­Baltic will begin direct sched­uled flights between Riga and Oulu – the Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture 2026 – in March 2026. The return flights will oper­ate five days a week until the end of Octo­ber 2026.

The NHL Char­i­ty All Stars game, held in Oulu in ear­ly August, brought togeth­er Finnish hock­ey icons and fans in sup­port of a mean­ing­ful cause. The jer­seys worn in the game by Sebas­t­ian Aho and Pekka Rinne were lat­er donat­ed to OYS Children’s Hos­pi­tal to bring joy to its young patients.

Aapo “The Angus” Rautio from Oulu par­tic­i­pat­ed in the Air Gui­tar World Cham­pi­onships for the first time when he was only 10 years old. This year, he final­ly became World Cham­pi­on. Rautio is the first Finnish world cham­pi­on in the sport in 25 years.

Sophie Platt fell in love with Fin­land on her very first vis­it — so much that she decid­ed to leave the UK and move to Oulu to pur­sue a master’s degree. From karaoke nights to vibrant fes­ti­vals, Sophie has found warmth, peace, and a true sense of belong­ing in her new Finnish home.

Are you won­der­ing about what to do in Oulu in your free time? Don’t fret – with­in this arti­cle you will find all free leisure, cul­ture and hob­by activ­i­ties that can be found in Oulu.

Leon Bergs­ma is a foot­ball play­er from Ams­ter­dam who is cur­rent­ly play­ing for AC Oulu. Watch the full video to hear more about Leon’s expe­ri­ence and why play­ing in Oulu is some­thing spe­cial.

The new Oulu2026 hot air bal­loon made its maid­en flight on Tues­day, June 3, 2025! The bal­loon will serve as a mes­sen­ger of the upcom­ing Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture year and an ambas­sador of good cheer for at least the next two years.

Ben Tardif is a Cana­di­an play­ing for the Kär­pät ice hock­ey team in Finland’s top pro­fes­sion­al hock­ey league. He moved to Oulu last sum­mer with his wife. “One of the best things about liv­ing in Oulu is the safe­ty. I can walk every­where at any time of the day,” Ben says. Watch our video for Ben’s inspir­ing sto­ry!