In the evening of Wednesday 9 September, something unprecedented will take place at the heart of Helsinki, as aerial acrobats and wall dancers use the clock tower at Helsinki Central Station as their stage. Circus & Dance Finland’s ‘Circus is Coming!’ campaign aims to shine a spotlight on contemporary Finnish circus art through this breathtaking circus performance. September will see this art form showcased spectacularly in the capital region.
Helsinki Central Station has, throughout the ages, been a place where people have met and gathered, said hello and goodbye, waited and hurried. On 9 September, the station’s iconic clock tower will come to life as a group of Finnish contemporary circus artists take over its exterior walls as their performance space. Aerial acrobats will descend to hang and dance in the air from the balconies of the clock tower, which stands almost 50 metres high.
Circus is coming! Are you ready?
This open-air performance highlights the fact that world-class contemporary circus art is being created in Finland. Our circus companies are constantly touring major international venues – we want Finns to discover the magic of contemporary circus too.
The wall dance show, taking place high up in the clock tower, begins at 6 pm. Rautatientori will serve as the audience area. Circus can be experienced inside the main railway station already from 5 pm. It’s worth arriving at Rautatientori well before 6 pm! This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The ‘Circus is Coming to the Clock Tower!’ event – which is free of charge and open to all city residents – is organised by Circus & Dance Finland’s ‘Circus is Coming!’ campaign in collaboration with the Helsinki Central Station and the Kellotorni event centre. Performers include wall dancer Heidi Miikki and Sorin Circus’s aerial acrobats Ada Haanpää, Anna Knuuttila and Kanelia Kähkölä. The acrobatic duo Ira&Jere and the TipTop Walkers’ stilt characters will perform inside the railway station.
September is one big circus celebration!
Right now, there are an exceptionally large number of contemporary circus performances on show. You can immerse yourself in the diverse and surprise-filled world of circus at the Kerava Circus Market on 5–6 September and at Helsinki Circus Festival, Finland’s largest circus festival taking place for the first time on 10–13 September.
‘Circus is Coming!’ is a campaign aimed at raising the profile of contemporary circus art in Finland. Contemporary circus is an art form that combines traditional circus skills with popular culture, dance, film, poetry and the visual arts. Finnish contemporary circus fills huge auditoriums across Central Europe and Asia. We want our high-class circus art to captivate domestic audiences too. The campaign is supported by the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation. The circus event at the Railway Station is supported by the City of Helsinki.