The award winning annual Mikkeli Music Festival takes place on the shores of Finland’s largest lake, Lake Saimaa, and offers a high quality international classical music experience for all ages in late July-early August. World’s top orchestras and performers have gathered to delight locals and visitors alike in different venues around Mikkeli since 1992. Whether your favourite genre is classical, opera, pop or jazz, this 8-day festival is guaranteed to offer something for everyone. Awarded “Festival of the Year 2023” by Finland Festivals, engaging the local community and making cultural experiences accessible for everyone is important to us, hence we also arrange performances around town free of charge during the summer.

Mikkeli Music Festival and The Philharmonia Orchestra have a four-year partnership from 2023 onwards during which The Philharmonia will perform at the Mikkeli Music Festival four nights a year. The concerts will be led by the Finnish Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, as well as a changing roster of guest conductors each year.

The forthcoming programme can be found at https://mikkelinmusiikkijuhlat.fi/en

Combine the event with the variety of activities available in the region. Immerse yourself in the surrounding nature on land and water, enjoy the delicious local cuisine and if you are lucky, you may even spot the rarest seal in the world, the Saimaa Ringed Seal!