A silent candlelight procession will light up Esplanade Park on 25 November to raise awareness of violence against women

The silent candlelight procession starts in the western end of Esplanade Park at 17.00 on Wednesday 25 November. The procession goes along Eteläesplanadi to the Espa Stage where the programme includes speeches and music.

This year, the Chairperson of the Helsinki City Council, Eveliina Heinäluoma, leads the procession and opens the event on the Espa Stage. The Chairperson of Parliament’s network against violence, Member of Parliament Sofia Virta, will also speak at the event.

After the programme on the Espa Stage, the procession will continue to the Havis Amanda statue and conclude with the laying of candles around the statue. The event will end at around 18.00.

Participants in the procession are asked to bring their own candle with a protective cover. Candles will also be handed out at the starting point of the procession before the procession begins, until they run out. Detailed instructions on participation can be found on the event website at hel.fi/silentcandlelightprocession.

Preventing domestic violence is a shared responsibility

The silent candlelight procession is part of the City of Helsinki’s efforts to prevent domestic violence. The prevention of domestic violence forms part of the City’s health and welfare promotion work, which is carried out in cooperation with authorities and organisations. Key measures include training for professionals and communication campaigns aimed at residents.

‘The prevention of domestic violence is essential for a safe everyday life and wellbeing. Helsinki has an important responsibility in preventing violence, recognising it, and ensuring that those in need of help have access to support. This silent candlelight procession helps us draw attention to violence against women and girls and remind everyone that violence is not to be accepted,’ Heinäluoma notes.

With the Bring Violence to Daylight campaign visible on the streets of Helsinki and social media in November, the City wishes to increase awareness of domestic violence and encourage people to seek help. The campaign encourages people to raise the issue and intervene if they notice violence within their own circle of friends and family, in their neighbourhood or at work, for example. Help is available for survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence.

Havis Amanda and City Hall will be lit up in orange as part of the UN’s International Orange Days campaign

The City of Helsinki will illuminate the Havis Amanda statue in orange from 15.00 to 24.00 on 25 November as part of the Orange Days campaign coordinated by UN Women Finland. The windows of the Helsinki City Hall will also be lit up in orange. During the campaign, buildings and landmarks across Finland will be lit in orange light to promote the safety of women and girls. The colour orange and orange light symbolise hope for a future without violence against women.

‘Violence against women and girls manifests itself in many different ways across the world, ranging from cyber violence to sexual abuse, and from war crimes to domestic violence. It affects everyone, from grandmothers to small children. All of us, men and women alike, have a duty to oppose this phenomenon and put an end to it once and for all. As patron of the Orange Days campaign, I would like to remind everyone that every woman and girl has the right to live in safety, free from violence or the threat of violence. Ensuring this right is realised is a shared responsibility for us all,’ says Suzanne Innes-Stubb, patron of the Orange Days campaign and spouse of the President of the Republic.

The red figures in the Silent Witness exhibition serve as a reminder of women who died as a result of violence

In connection with the procession, the Silent Witness exhibition by Finland’s Violence Observatory will be set up in Esplanade Park. Each red female figure represents one woman who died as a result of violence this year. The exhibition honours their memory and shares information about femicide and its prevention in Finland.

The exhibition is part of the Light, not violence campaign by Finland’s Violence Observatory, drawing attention to violence against women and encouraging people to take action to prevent it. In 2026, the campaign is coordinated by the Coalition of Finnish Women’s Associations NYTKIS.

_

Information for journalists attending the event

We request you not to ask the participants questions during the procession, because it is a silent candlelight procession. Representatives of the City of Helsinki and the cooperation partners will be available for interviews after the candlelight procession by the statue of Havis Amanda.

Photographers from the City of Helsinki will attend the event. The photos can be downloaded from the City of Helsinki Media Bank after the event. The photographer’s name / the City of Helsinki must be credited when the photographs are published.

Aineistopankki.hel.fi