The first Finnish con was the sci-fi themed King-Con, held at the Old Student House in Helsinki in 1982. Anime and manga events gradually emerged alongside or in conjunction with sci-fi cons. The first national sci-fi and fantasy event, Finncon, took place in Helsinki in 1986. In 1999, alongside Finncon, the first Finnish event focused on Japanese popular culture, Animecon, was organized in Turku. The growing fan community has led to new events popping up all over Finland, and con culture has grown immensely over the years.
Initially, all conventions in Finland were either free or charged only a nominal fee, mainly for coat check. However, as the popularity of Japanese popular culture has grown, events have required larger venues, leading to some conventions introducing admission fees. The golden age of cons in Finland was around the turn of the 2010s, when events like Desucon in Lahti and Tracon in Tampere were established. Along the way, many cons have been discontinued while new ones have been founded. During the pandemic, some cons temporarily moved online, such as Kibecon and Tracon. After the pandemic, cons have experienced a new resurgence, with tickets for many paid cons selling out within seconds.
A unique feature of Finnish cons is that they are run mainly by volunteers. Compared to many commercial and trade-like large events abroad, cons in our country are mostly made by attendees for attendees, as non-profit events. While Finland emphasizes diverse con programming, many international events often focus more on sales.
Read long-time con organizer Anna Jalo’s blog post How to Organize a Successful Con? (in Finnish)
Video: Tracon 2023. Photographer: Hanna “thejunnnu” Kousa
