All-time attendance record at Helsinki Book Fair – nearly 98,000 showed interest in literature
Over four days, nearly 98,000 people visited the Helsinki Book Fair and the Wine & Food Fair. The number of visitors increased by 11% compared to last year and surpassed the previous record from 2019 by nearly 6,000 visitors. The Helsinki Book Fair remains the largest literary event in the Nordics in terms of attendance. In an interview on the fair´s opening day, President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb emphasized the importance of literature, stating that we would not exist without it. The event took place from Thursday to Sunday, October 24–27, 2024, at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre.
The Helsinki Book Fair 2024 featured 17 program stages with nearly 1,000 author interviews and discussions. Over 1,500 people participated in the discussions. The Helsinki Book Fair was held for the 24th time at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. The fair was visited by 97,725 people over four days, and additionally, the event's programs were streamed more than 11,100 times with online tickets. The previous attendance record for the Helsinki Book Fair was from 2019, when the fair had 91,952 visitors. In 2023, the Helsinki Book Fair had 88,071 visitors.
The President of the Republic at the Book Fair: "Without literature, we would not exist"
Among the over 1,500 participants at the Helsinki Book Fair was also the President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander Stubb. In an interview, President Alexander Stubb highlighted the national significance of literature: "It means everything. Literature shapes our identity. When we look at Finland and Finnishness, which is so close and dear to all of us, it is based on an identity rooted in education. This identity is grounded in literature, in Aleksis Kivi, Runeberg, Eino Leino, and Minna Canth. "It is built upon the great thinkers in our society throughout history who have created a narrative about what it means to be Finnish and who we are", the president said.
The success of Finnish society is largely an education project. “We were part of Sweden for six to seven hundred years, and when we became a part of Russia in 1809, we began increasingly to build our own Finnish identity, based on culture, songs, texts, books, institutions, and even our own currency. From this emerged a unity, a definition of what Finnishness is. In our collective thinking, Finnishness is shaped by our interpretation of history and the literature surrounding it", stated President Alexander Stubb.
Record sales at the Helsinki Book Fair
Finnish literature was strongly represented alongside translated literature at the Helsinki Book Fair. What do the representatives of the two largest publishing houses think about the record attendance, the significance of literature, and book sales?
"An all-time book fair! Sales records have been broken every day, and people have purchased a wide variety of books. It is a pleasure to once again observe the great interest in printed books. Our local authors have had the opportunity to meet readers and engage in conversations with them. The significance of literature in Finnish society cannot be emphasized enough", says Nonna Ratia, Business Manager at Otava.
Timo Julkunen, CEO of WSOY, is very pleased with the book fair. "This year, there have been significantly more young visitors than before. The range of literature has expanded so that sales are no longer dominated by a few bestsellers; instead, a diverse and rich selection of all kinds of books is now being sold. Book sales have increased at the same rate as attendance. This year, we have sold a record number of books at the Helsinki Book Fair", Julkunen expresses with joy.
A nationally significant cultural arena and literary event
The Helsinki Book Fair promotes reading interest, appreciation for literature, and book sales in Finland. The event is a nationally significant cultural arena; a current pioneer, a challenging conversation partner, as well as a storyteller and a nurturer of the heart. The main values of the book fair are freedom of speech, equality, and respect for human dignity. Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre organized the Helsinki Book Fair from October 24–27, 2024, in collaboration with the Finnish Publishers' Association and the Booksellers' Association of Finland. In conjunction with the Helsinki Book Fair, the Record Fair, the Stamp Fair, and the Antiquarian Book Fair were also held, which are organized annually in collaboration with the Finnish Antiquarian Booksellers' Association. The Wine & Food Fair is Finland's largest food and beverage event. The event is organized in collaboration between the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre and Viinilehti magazine. This year, the event On the Plate for special diets was also held during the weekend.
The events not only create experiences but also generate jobs and support the economy. The events held at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre last year generated a revenue stream of 187 million euros and created 2,535 person years of employment in the capital region.
Next time, the Helsinki Book Fair and the Wine & Food event will take place from October 23–26, 2025, at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. The next major event at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre is the Iloveme Fair, taking place from November 29 to December 1, 2024.
More information:
The Helsinki Book Fair, communications: Teija Armanto, phone 050 376 0804,
The Wine & Food Fair, communications: Antti Karjunen, phone 050 574 3444,
Business Manager Tanja Pasila, phone 050 387 0024,
Program Director Ville Blåfield, phone 050 310 3017, #kirjamessut #viiniruoka
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