Festival info
FAQ
27 and 28 February 2026
Helsinki Noir – Stadin pimeä puoli – The Dark Side of Helsinki
This crime and thriller literary festival will take place in the last week of February. The main programme is at Helsinki’s Alexander Theatre on 27 and 28 February 2026, where a host of leading crime novelists from Finland and abroad will speak. Satu Rämö, Max Seeck, Leena Lehtolainen, Patricia G. Bertényi, Matti Laine, Kale Puonti, Helena Immonen, Lilja Sigurdardóttir and many other magnetic bestselling authors will appear during the weekend on stage at the Alexander Theatre. The main programme takes place over two days, with tickets available for either one or both days, as well as exclusive VIP tickets. Ticket sales open on 1 April. Get your tickets at Lippu.fi.
Helsinki Noir will become a full festival week, with numerous literary events planned for central Helsinki. The City of Helsinki is involved in planning interesting encounters and events for the last week of February. Author talks, thematic film screenings, literary events for school pupils in libraries, thematic walking tours, reading circles and even literary pub quizzes and other low-threshold events are planned. Some of the events will be ticketed, while others will be free. Companies and volunteers can register as event partners by emailing [email protected] with the subject line Helsinki Noir Partnership. The main event organizer is the publisher WSOY.
Helsinki Noir follows in the footsteps of Iceland Noir, in Reykjavik in November, and Quais du Polar in Lyon in April. These events share a common desire to bring members of the public of all ages together at events to discuss books, meet authors and get excited about reading and crime literature.
In the coming years Helsinki Noir wants to offer crime and thriller literary experiences to visitors to Helsinki from both the rest of Finland and abroad.
The programme for both the Alexander Theatre and other venues will be updated as partnerships and speakers are confirmed.
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