Lappeenranta celebrates its 375th anniversary in 2024 – Kolmas Nainen, Isaac Sene, Aston Kalmari and Nuppu Oinas to perform during the week and humppa to make a comeback

The City of Lappeenranta has a special reason to party as the city celebrates its 375th anniversary. In honour of this, the city and its partners are organising a Lappeenranta Celebration Week in mid-August.

The Celebration Week will honour and proudly highlight Lappeenranta’s traditions, local expertise and spirit of doing things together. Local food and drink suppliers will also be invited to join the festivities.

“We hope that our joint anniversary celebrations will provide interesting and memorable experiences for every Lappeenranta resident as well as for current and new friends of Lappeenranta,” says Event Production Coordinator Riikka Hjelt.

The city’s main event will be the Lappeenranta 375th Anniversary Day held at the Fortress on 10 August 2024, which will open the Celebration Week with a unique programme. The performers will include, for example, Mimi and Kuku, Nuppu Oinas, Isaac Sene and Kolmas Nainen.

“The audience will also be able to enjoy performances by local talents, such as Aston Kalmari, Lappeenranta City Orchestra, Lappeenranta Big Band, H-Hetki Houseband led by Heidi Aaltonen, Rajan Nuoret, Lappeenranta Dance Institute and Vastarannan teatteri. The Anniversary Day will culminate in a fireworks display,” says Hjelt.

To mark the occasion, humppa, the Finnish dance music familiar to Lappeenranta residents, will make a comeback on the shores of Lake Saimaa.

“Lappeenranta has a long tradition of humppa festivals, which used to attract people from all over Finland. In honour of our local history, we wanted to include humppa in the festive programme.”

“The local Iltarusko orchestra will charm the audience with humppa during the day. The orchestra comprises young musicians who were not yet even born at the time of the previous Lappeenranta humppa festivals. There will be humppa and other partner dances, and everyone will be able to dance in their own style and even on their own,” says Hjelt with a smile.

Programme for the Celebration Week being prepared

The programme for the Lappeenranta Celebration Week is still being prepared. In addition to the actual programme, the city’s 375th anniversary will be honoured during the week at traditional summer concerts and at the Sandcastle. The programme is being organised not only by the city but also by local partners.

“We want the whole of Lappeenranta to come alive during the Celebration Week and for visitors to join in the anniversary festivities alongside Lappeenranta residents. At the same time, the city is responding to the demand for festivals in the area and providing a stage and event infrastructure for the events of its partners,” says Mirka Rahman, the city’s Director of Tourism, Marketing and Customer Service.

The city will provide more information about the programme of the Celebration Week later, and information will also be compiled on a dedicated website at lappeenranta.fi/lpr375.

For more information, please contact:

Mirka Rahman  
Director of Tourism, Marketing and Customer Service, tel. +358 (0)40 849 9161, mirka.rahman@lappeenranta.fi

Riikka Hjelt, Event Production Coordinator
tel. + 358 (0)40 669 3767, riikka.hjelt@lappeenranta.fi