The oldest city in Finland, Turku, will celebrate its 800th anniversary in 2029. Through the Turku 800 programme call, we will create an unforgettable anniversary year for everyone!
During the anniversary year, everyone in Turku will be Hero of the Day – everyone is invited to joun in and experience a shared, year-long birthday party together!
Are you preparing a project, campaign or event related to the anniversary? If your submitted project meets the requirements for inclusion in the programme, it can be selected for inclusion in the Turku 800 program. You can propose your project by filling in the application form online.
Related content:
Related content:
Do you have a brilliant idea or initiative for the anniversary year but are unable to carry it out yourself?
Through this form, you can submit your idea for others to implement or further develop.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about the Programme and Grant Call
Firstness, Turku connection, anniversary-specificity – the ideas behind the terms and a few other tricky questions.
If your question is not listed here, you can contact the Turku 800 team at 800@turku.fi or via the personal email addresses found at the bottom of this page.
Yes, you can edit your submitted application within 24 hours after submission. After that, you can notify us of changes via the Message function in the application system.
In the coming years, we will organise various calls, including a call for projects related to urban culture in 2028. We will communicate about open calls on our website, in our newsletter and on social media.
The Turku 800 anniversary year inspires new firsts, and this is one of the main themes of the anniversary year. The theme New Firsts turns firstness into a call to action and encourages new beginnings: phenomena, innovations, bold experiments, creating something new and new ways of thinking in areas such as urban culture, art, science, education and business.
Firstness means being the first, but it can also mean doing something for the first time yourself. Everyone can reflect on what they themselves could do for the first time – not necessarily the first in the world, but the first time for themselves.
Projects accepted into the anniversary year programme must take place in Turku or have a strong connection to Turku. A Turku connection may, for example, mean a strong thematic focus on Turku or the involvement of Turku-based actors, even if the project itself does not take place in Turku.
Activities that are recurring or part of an organisation’s core operations may be accepted into the anniversary programme, provided that the anniversary year is taken into account through a specific emphasis or special approach.
However, grants cannot be awarded for activities that are essentially part of an organisation’s regular core operations within the anniversary programme. Receiving a grant requires, among other things, collaboration and the implementation of the anniversary year’s themes and objectives in a distinctive way.
Core operations refer to recurring activities that an organisation exists to carry out. A project within the anniversary programme cannot receive funding for its core operations.
Discretionary means that even if all the criteria for acceptance into the programme and for receiving a grant are met, and the project is evaluated as good, there is no automatic right to funding.
Grant decisions are influenced by the overall balance of the anniversary programme. This means that decisions take into account, among other things, geographical areas, target groups, types of activities and sectors. A project and its need for funding are therefore assessed in relation to the overall programme, avoiding, for example, regional imbalances or overrepresentation of certain target groups.
Projects may relate, for example, to art and culture, sports and physical activity, nature and the environment, science and research, education, community or civic engagement, food and drink, or urban culture.
Project implementation may include, for example, an event, a gathering, an exhibition, a work, a publication, a study, a development project, a campaign, or a decision.
If you are unsure, please feel free to contact the Programme Manager. Please note, however, that commercial corporate partnerships (including product rights) will be handled through a separate track, and negotiations with interested companies will begin during spring 2026.
Welcome to help create the anniversary year! Your decision letter provides more detailed information about what inclusion in the programme means.
Your project is part of the anniversary year and will be featured in the anniversary communications. You have the right to use the Turku 800 programme label as part of your own communications in accordance with the graphic guidelines provided separately.
You will also have access to various services and training opportunities tailored for programme partners. A Sustainable Development Guide will also be published to support you.
Please contact the Programme Manager regarding any significant changes to your project. Minor changes can be communicated via the messaging function in the application system.
You may request feedback on your project and, within the application timetable, reapply with an updated application.
You may also implement your project as originally planned, even if it is not part of the anniversary programme.
Welcome to help create the anniversary year! Now it is time to implement your project.
A contract has been drawn up with you, detailing the mutual obligations and rights related to the implementation of the project, including communication details. The contract also specifies the payment schedule for your grant.
The final instalment of the grant will be paid only after the final report has been submitted. For larger grants, interim reporting may be required as a condition for instalment payments.
Please contact the Programme Manager regarding any significant changes to your project. No extension will be granted for the use of the grant.
If your project has been accepted as part of the anniversary programme, you may implement it without the grant or seek the missing funding from other sources.
If receiving the grant or other financial cooperation is a prerequisite for implementing the project, please contact the Programme Manager if your project will not be carried out or if it changes significantly.
Grants are paid in instalments according to the payment schedule specified in the contract. The final instalment will be paid once the final report has been submitted to and approved by the Turku 2029 Foundation.
Related content:
Related content:
