FestivalArea
Only a walking distance from the centre of Helsinki, the festival takes place at the historical Suvilahti, a former power plant area in Helsinki. The factory area has been transformed into a perfect setting for the festivities with lighting design, decorations, design and the latest in event technology. The charming area also provides plenty of spots for resting and sitting in case of acute festival fatigue.
The Suvilahti festival area houses 10 unique venues for Flow, including massive outdoor and tent stages for thrilling and atmospheric spectacles as well as cosy indoor and outdoor venues for more intimate moments. The Main Stage is fit to entertain the complete festival audience, while the smaller stages are suited for audiences of a few hundred festival goers. Take a closer look at the venues below.
Main Stage
All roads lead to the Main Stage, which dominates the centre of the festival area. This eye-catching primary stage is located at the core of the Flow environment, and is reachable or visible from almost every part of Suvilahti. The Main Stage also has an exceptionally large video screen implementation, which has physical dimensions of 57 m x 8.4 m. The classic outdoor Main Stage has seen some of the brightest stars of the global music scene and been the epicenter of unforgettable Flow discoveries.
Silver Arena
In 2023, Flow Festival welcomed a brand new venue to its ranks when the giant Silver Arena rose towards the skies and replaced its predecessor, Red Arena. This unique venue has a capacity of 15,000 people and is truly a reference point for the whole area with its impressive dimensions of 60 x 75 meters.
Balloon 360°
Balloon 360° is the beating heart of Flow Festival. The stage was born ten years ago as the result of an architecture competition and has since become one of the festival’s hallmarks. The stage is like a planet of its own where the atmosphere is always enchanting and intimate. The grandstand surrounding the stage offers festivalgoers goosebump-inducing performance spectacles. Not surprisingly, the enchanting Balloon 360° has proven to be immensely popular, so make sure to arrive in good time to secure your seats under the mesmerizing balloon.
Black Tent
The Black Tent is known for its palpable atmosphere and is a venue for the most current domestic and international names. The eye-catching milieu invites festival visitors to dive into the music and enjoy! Top billing artists fill up the tent swiftly with music enthusiasts, so we recommend festival goers make their way to the Black Tent events in good time for the best seats in the house.
Resident Advisor Front Yard
Premiered in 2017, the lush new Resident Advisor Front Yard offers a large outdoor venue to see the top names in electronic music. At Front Yard, the parties take place in the middle of grungy containers and dazzling lights. What’s more, at Front Yard you don’t have to worry about moments of silence, as the music plays non-stop.
X Garden
At the 2023 festival, Flow Festival proudly presented a new venue, X Garden, which praises the diversity of Helsinki’s club scene. Three of the city’s most adventurous collectives curated the venue’s program, each taking over the space on a different festival day. Along with the curated program, each collective brought their distinctive visual touch to the space. The new X Garden venue replaced Red Garden from previous years, creating a completely new and unique club experience for Flow!
Heineken Backyard
Flow Festival’s Heineken Backyard is the verdant oasis full of good vibes for club music aficionados in the post-industrial Suvilahti area. The legendary Backyard offers a diverse set of DJ music that draws to the sonic worlds of house, disco and soul as well as influences from different parts of South America and Africa.
The Other Sound
The Other Sound program features experimental music from a variety of artists, including from the fields of sound art, jazz, ambient, electronic music and classical music. This year The Other Sound will be located in Tiivistämö.
Champagne Bar & Lounge
The bubbles in the tall drink that is the Flow Festival are provided by the popular Champagne Bar & Lounge by Lanson, located in the Balloon 360° area. In addition to the sparkling beverages, also talented DJs can be found here, blasting their best selections. Sit down for a minute, take a sip and relax.
Tiilikello
At Flow 2023, the recently renovated, awe-inspiring old gasometer was once again dedicated entirely to spatial art. Reaching over 40 meters high, the impressive Tiilikello venue exhibited the newly commissioned work by environmental artist Thijs Biersteker, Gasp.