Weekend Festival is a music festival taking place in
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...
, previously also in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
and
Pärnu
Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...
. The festival was organised for the first time in Luukki, Espoo (about 25 km from the centre of
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
),
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
on the 17 and 18 of August 2012.
[ ] In 2013 the festival location was changed to its old location at Kyläsaari/
Kalasatama
Kalasatama ( sv, Fiskehamnen; literally translated "fish port") is a neighbourhood in the city of Helsinki, Finland. The area is officially part of the Sörnäinen district; and like Sörnäinen, Kalasatama is located a little more than one kilomet ...
in Helsinki.
In 2018 the festival moved to Hietaniemi also in Helsinki. In 2019 it moved to Suvilahti, Helsinki. Weekend Festival artist line up has mainly consisted of
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
artists but there have also been artists from other music genres present. The festival has been attended by more than 40,000 people on both years. Every year the festival has a different theme which reflects mainly in the visual side of the festival. In 2013 the festival theme was Space and Future while for 2014 the organisers decided to go with Electro Disco theme. The festival lineup has featured various internationally acclaimed artists including
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...
,
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
,
Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums.
His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...
,
Martin Garrix
Martijn Gerard Garritsen (; born 14 May 1996), known professionally as Martin Garrix and also as Ytram and GRX, is a Dutch disc jockey and music producer who was ranked number one on ''DJ Mag''s Top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years—201 ...
etc. and Finland's own popular artists. Weekend Festival has sold out in advance on both years. In 2013 Weekend Festival was voted as the best summer festival by the listeners of Finnish radio station YleX. In 2015, Weekend Festival expanded to
Pärnu
Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
and in 2016 to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
Festival area
The first Weekend Festival took place in Luukki,
Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
in 2012.
Luukki Recreational Area is located 23 km from the centre of
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. The heart of Luukki, which is one of the most popular outdoor recreation areas in the Helsinki region, is an old manor. The area includes 20 hectares of forest inhabited by flying squirrels. The festival area featured three stages: NRJ Stage, Weekend Stage and Party Stage. There was also a camping area.
Following the traffic difficulties in 2012, the festival was moved from the green Luukki forests to a more urban Kyläsaari/Kalasatama Festival area in 2013. The festival area in Kyläsaari/Kalasatama is four metro stops away from the Helsinki Railway Station and also easily reachable on bus, bike or foot. Kalasatama Festival area has hosted in past various bigger concerts and festivals including
Sonisphere
The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...
2011,
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
and
Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...
. Weekend Festival 2013 had four stages: NRJ Stage, Weekend Stage (tent), Future Stage and Galaxy Stage. Future Stage was located at the Kyläsaari harbour. The festival area in Kyläsaari does not feature a camping ground.
In 2015,
Weekend Festival Baltic also took place on Pärnu beach, Estonia, with three stages. The last festival in Estonia took place in 2018. On 27.02.2019 the Weekend Festival Baltic OÜ, the organizer of the Estonian festival, was declared bankruptcy.
In 2018 the festival moved to Hietaniemi beach and expanded to a 3-day festival.
In 2020, due to the corona pandemic, Weekend Festival 2020, planned to Käpylä Sports Park in Helsinki, was canceled.
Weekend Festival line-ups
2012
2013 (Future Space Edition)
2014 (Electro Disco Edition)
2015 (Super Digital Edition)
2016 (Year of the Tiger Edition)
2017 (Neon Dreams Edition)
2018
Weekend Festival Baltic line-ups
2015 (Super Digital Edition)
2016 (Year of the Tiger Edition)
2017 (Neon Beach Edition)
Weekend Festival Sweden line-ups
2016 (Year of the Tiger Edition)
Awards
Weekend Festival was nominated for Best Festival award in Music & Media Industry Awards in 2013.
Finnish radio station
YleX
YleX (formerly known as YLEX) is one of the major radio stations of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle) featuring pop music and cultural programming. The station started as Radiomafia, and name changed to YleX in 2003. Programming targets the yo ...
listeners voted Weekend Festival as the best festival of the summer in Finland in 2013. Weekend Festival gathered 25% of the total votes.
Weekend Festival was also nominated as the Best Medium-sized Festival in 2013 at European Festival Awards.
[ ]
See also
*
List of electronic music festivals
The following is an incomplete list of music festivals that feature electronic music, which encapsulates music featuring electronic instruments such as electric guitar and keyboards, as well as recent genres such as electronic dance music (EDM ...
References
{{Electronic music festival
Music festivals established in 2012
Electronic music festivals in Finland
Summer events in Finland