Convention business surges in Finland, led by scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses

Finland held on to its top ranking as the most popular Nordic country for conventions and congresses in 2024, and this year looks even busier.

According to the Finland Convention Bureau (FCB), 584 international congresses were organized in Finland last year, an increase from 2023. The largest event was a special meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses organized in Helsinki, which attracted up to 22,000 visitors. A record 17,500 researchers and scientists also participated in gatherings organized at the University of Helsinki.

For the whole year, some 116,928 people attended a convention or congress in Finland, an increase of more than 37,000 over 2023. The average size jumped to 200 participants from 150. June was the busiest month, when more than 49,000 conventioneers arrived in the country. Most meetings were organized in “natural sciences and mathematics” (21%). Other categories included “technology, information technology and architecture” and “social sciences, history and security.”

This year is also shaping up to be a very good year, with conventions scheduled to be held all over the country, according to the report by Visit Finland.

The season starts in mid-May with some 4,000 people expected to attend the 57th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition in Helsinki. Another 3,000 people are registered for ESOC 2025, the 11th meeting of  European Stroke Organization, and the same number have signed up for the 19th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care.

In June, the Pentecostal World Conference 2025 will be held, and 4,000 visitors are expected. Right after that, Finnish Nurses will organize the World Congress of Nursing in Helsinki, where 5,000 nurses from around the world will network and share the latest information on health care. The congress was last organized in Finland exactly 100 years ago. On Midsummer, more than 6,000 neurology professionals gather in Helsinki  for EAN, the 11th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, and 2,000 attendees will be hand at the end of June for FESSH, the Congress of the Federation of the European Societies for Surgery of the Hand,

Finland is the most popular Nordic country for conventions, according to the the report. More than 150 international organization have already booked convention space for the years 2025-2031 and their estimated number of participants is around 100,000.