More than 700 participants at Tampere Residents' Evenings – popular events continue in autumn

Tampere Residents' Evenings are open to all and organised in different parts of the city in spring and autumn. The events give participants the opportunity to hear and comment on current issues in the city, enjoy cultural performances and learn about the activities of local associations.

In spring 2025, events were held in Linnainmaa, Nekala, Hervanta and Peltolammi, as well as an English-language evening in the city centre.

– The Tampere Residents' Evenings have started to become familiar to people in Tampere. This spring, the events attracted more than 700 participants, says Jarno Koskinen, the Regional Coordinator responsible for organising the events.

Almost 50 different themes on display

A record number of contents were presented to residents. Over five evenings, residents had the chance to see what nearly 50 exhibitors had to offer.

– The Tampere Residents' Evenings are first and foremost events where residents can participate and influence the city's affairs. Each evening featured at least ten topics related to the development of the city, says Koskinen.

The spring residents' evenings were fair-like events, where participants circulated at their own pace to explore the contents of the different theme tables. Some of the themes were common to all the events, but some varied from region to region.

For each evening, the aim was to find content of interest to the people of the region concerned. For example, in Nekala, the cultural centre of the region was presented, while in Linnainmaa, information was given on the relocation of the youth centre and the new facilities for young people.

Discussions in Finnish and English

The Tampere Residents' Evenings have tried to take into account the multilingual nature of the people living in Tampere. More than 10 % of Tampere residents have a mother tongue other than Finnish.

– One of the spring evenings was entirely in English. In all other residents' evenings, you were also able to ask questions and discuss with city experts in English. It has also been possible to ask the experts to explain things in simple Finnish, says Koskinen.

In addition to the interesting content, the participants were attracted by a varied and high-quality music programme.

– We had children's music, rock, Italian songs, the Legioonateatteri's Peace Choir and a jam session. The content varied so much that some residents mentioned they would return for another evening because of the interesting content, smiles Jarno Koskinen.

Give feedback on the residents' evenings

Participants and exhibitors at the Tampere Residents' Evenings have expressed their thanks and provided valuable suggestions for improvement.

Many wished that decision-makers had also been present. However, this spring it was not possible due to the election quarantine for municipal and regional elections.

– The feedback from the people of Tampere encourages us to make the evenings even more varied. In the autumn, we will continue the popular fair-type events, but we will also try something new, says Regional Coordinator Jarno Koskinen.

– You can always send us feedback on the residents' evenings. We are also happy to hear any ideas or wishes you have about the content or the way the evenings are organised, says Jarno Koskinen.