Kuopio250 call for proposals
Kuopio will celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2025
Kuopio will commemorate its anniversary starting in November 2024, inviting all city residents, diverse actors and businesses to take part in the festivities. Our objective is to develop a diverse program for the anniversary year with a special focus on children and young people, while also offering something for all audiences to enjoy. The program will be produced in collaboration between the city organisation and various actors.
The call for proposals for the Kuopio250 anniversary year is still ongoing!
The call for proposals for the Kuopio250 anniversary year is now open, offering a chance to be included in the anniversary year program. In the first phase, we sought long-term productions requiring extended preparation and implementation time, as well as events scheduled for late 2024. The brainstorming for 2024 events has ended! From now on, we will only accept finalized proposals for 2025.
“We now have a great opportunity to make our mark in the history of Kuopio! In addition to events and activities, the goal of the anniversary year is to leave behind something lasting and tangible for future generations.”
Nina Venäläinen, Project Manager of the Kuopio250 anniversary year
Objectives, values and priorities of the anniversary year
The main objective of the anniversary year project is to create as diverse a program as possible in collaboration between a variety of actors. The anniversary year program will be developed together with the actors through networking. The goal is also to create new operating methods and cooperation models that will persist beyond the anniversary year.
We also aim to promote a sense of inclusion and community among Kuopio residents. Planning of the program is a collaborative effort that involves the participation of residents, who are also encouraged to contribute their own ideas for the anniversary year program.
The anniversary year facilitates and fosters the evolution of Kuopio as a city of events through a range of experiments. The goal is to develop and reinforce the operating models of the event and tourism sector. We strive to support professional activities.
Main target groups for the anniversary year are children and young people. We hope that the program and activities will resonate with all our target groups. Our goal is to create opportunities for experiences throughout the entire Kuopio region, including rural areas.
The anniversary year program is expected to incorporate the following perspectives and values:
- Sustainability, responsibility
- Diversity, equality
- Sense of community, inclusion
- Well-being impacts
- The city’s attractiveness and ability to retain residents
- Compliance with the city strategy
Program selection criteria
When selecting programs, the following criteria are taken into consideration:
- The production has been assigned a primary responsible party, who can be either an individual or organisation.
- The applicant has a viable plan that can be executed independently with potential co-financing.
- The cost structure of the program is realistic. At the application stage, it has been noted that the city’s funding comprises co-financing, implying the involvement of other funding providers.
- The production has regional impact and it contributes to overall well-being and provides one-of-a-kind experiences. The ability to generate permanent changes and new operating models regionally is considered an advantage.
- Targeting our primary audience of children and young people is considered a plus.
- The production is innovative and aligned with the themes and values of the anniversary year, while complementing and building upon the applicant’s potential core activities.
- The production takes into consideration equality, diversity and non-discrimination. The program must be open to everyone.
- The production has been designed with sustainable development in mind, ensuring its longevity.
The fulfilment of these criteria does not guarantee automatic selection for the anniversary year program. The selection process also takes into consideration how well the production fits the program as a whole.
More information on funding
Read more about funding for the programs of Kuopio250 anniversary year on the production grants page.
Our Kuopio production grant is awarded for covering the costs of organizing events in Kuopio during Our Kuopio Festival. The grant can be used to cover, for example, material and marketing expenses and fees.
Read more about the production grants for Our Kuopio Festival here.
Questions and answers
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Anyone can participate in the call for proposals for the anniversary year starting in spring 2024. Individuals, working groups, independent producers, artists, organisations, associations and companies are all welcome to participate. When the applicant is an unregistered working group, the application is made in the name of a representative of the working group. Other members of the group should be named in the application, and they are jointly responsible for the production.
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The operator fills in the program proposal form. The working group reviews the application and contacts the applicant. We hope that any questions related to productions planned for the anniversary year will be submitted directly through the program or production support application. Please note that there is currently a backlog in processing applications.
After this, the operator will receive an email on acceptance to the program, including instructions for communication and reporting during the anniversary year. If necessary, the operator will be directed to the funding application process. The production can be featured in the anniversary program even without a positive funding decision.
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You can propose events and productions that already exist for the anniversary year program. However, we recommend that the production be approached from a fresh angle, perhaps incorporating a theme related to the anniversary year. Funding is not provided for operators’ established core activities.
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To be included in the anniversary year program, applicants must complete and submit the program proposal form and adhere to the values and criteria of the anniversary year.
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No, it will not. Applications received through the call for proposals are processed confidentially. The organizer will publish the event information on Kuopion Seinä (only in Finnish) once the details are confirmed. We recommend submitting event details to Seinä at least one month before the event date. For more information, visit Kuopion Seinä: Kuopion Seinä (kuopionseina.fi)
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Yes, it is. Operators can participate in the anniversary year program with several productions. It should be noted that not all programs approved for the anniversary year will be automatically funded.
