Helsinki Book Fair broke records – over 100 000 visitors
A record-breaking 104,516 lovers of literature, wine and food visited Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre over the four-day event. The event complex achieved an all-time visitor record for Helsinki Expo and Convention Centere. The Helsinki Book Fair, the largest literary event in the Nordic countries, and the Wine & Food event were held at Messukeskus Helsinki from 23–26 October 2025.
The Helsinki Book Fair continues to strengthen its position as the largest literary event in the Nordics in terms of visitor numbers. In addition to on-site attendance, the online programmes were viewed more than 15,000 times during the event. The fair featured a record-breaking 1,000 programmes across 17 stages, with nearly 1,700 performers.
Last year, in 2024, the fair attracted 97,572 visitors and the online programme was viewed 11,100 times. Visitor numbers grew by 7% from the previous year.
A Time That Calls for Culture and Joy
Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre has been filled with culture and joy in keeping with this year’s theme. The exceptionally broad programme included over 1,000 discussions, featuring all Finnish Presidents. The interview with the President of the Republic, Alexander Stubb, drew an estimated audience of nearly 3,000 people.
“Reading is the fuel of thought. I don’t see myself developing as a human being in any way if I’m not constantly reading. It’s as if I’m always trying to grasp something. The Finnish book market looks very good. I’ve read a lot of Finnish literature lately, and it has done me good,”
said the President of the Republic in an interview with Programme Director Ville Blåfield.
“It feels particularly wonderful that the 100,000 visitor milestone and record were achieved in the anniversary year of the Helsinki Book Fair. This event has been built and developed with great heart and the collective effort of the entire book industry since 2001. That shared work and commitment are visible – and bearing fruit,” says Blåfield.
“The fact that over 100,000 people came to the Helsinki Book Fair for the love of culture and reading reminds us that Finns’ passion for books has not faded. The thirst for literary art and high-quality nonfiction is great – and it was quenched again with hundreds of thousands of book purchases. It’s immensely valuable that at the Helsinki Book Fair, books are also sold in huge numbers, at the stands of publishers, bookstores and antiquarian booksellers alike.”
Successful Encounters
The power of encounters was again evident throughout the weekend, and record sales were reported at many stands. “The atmosphere has been wonderful, and we’ve witnessed many important and unique meetings. The programmes have drawn great interest among literature lovers, and visitors have come to listen to discussions but also to talk about books, meet fellow readers and especially authors,” says Business Manager Tanja Pasila.
“It’s clear that literature continues to attract wide interest. The Helsinki Book Fair is in many ways a unique event for all people, and its synergy with the Wine & Food fair is excellent. Both events have seen strong sales,” Pasila adds.
The major publishers’ stands also reported record-breaking book sales.
Timo Julkunen, CEO of WSOY, is extremely pleased with the fair: “We never would have believed sales could grow this much – they’ll be well over 30% higher than last year. Talk of a book crisis feels strange right now. Even young people are buying printed books, and that’s a good sign.”
Eva Reenpää, CEO of Otava, also reports significant sales growth: “We’re really happy. There have been so many cheerful visitors. The meetings between authors and readers at our stand have been truly heartwarming. All this shows that the importance of literature keeps growing, and good stories continue to draw people in,” Reenpää says.
Anu Tola, Sales and Marketing Director of Suomalainen Kirjakauppa, says the fair was a commercial success and a great boost heading into the Christmas season: “The fair went excellently – even beyond the highest expectations. Book lovers fully enjoyed both the stage programmes and the stands. There were many meaningful and important encounters around books at the Helsinki Book Fair,” Tola notes.
A Nationally Significant Cultural Forum and Literary Event
The Helsinki Book Fair promotes reading, appreciation of literature, and book sales in Finland. It is a nationally significant cultural forum – a contemporary pioneer, a thought-provoking conversationalist, a storyteller and an educator of the heart.
The key values of the Helsinki Book Fair are freedom of speech, equality, and respect for human dignity.
The next Helsinki Book Fair will be held at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre from 22–25 October 2026, organised by Messukeskus in cooperation with the Finnish Book Publishers Association and the Booksellers’ Association of Finland.
The Antiquarian Book Fair will again be held alongside the event, in cooperation with the Finnish Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association, and at the same time the Wine & Food event will take place in collaboration with Viinilehti magazine.
More information:
Press Officer Teija Armanto, Messukeskus, tel. +358 50 376 0804, teija.armanto@messukeskus.com
Programme Director Ville Blåfield, tel. +358 50 310 3017, ville.blafield@messukeskus.com
www.helsinginkirjamessut.fi
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Photos from the Helsinki Book Fair: mediabank.messukeskus.com
