Encouraging Finns to sing with support from foundations
Together, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland awarded a total of around €1.5 million to promote singing in Finland. Everybody Sings is a project that brings singing to events, festivals and everyday life in municipalities across Finland.
Singing has been shown to have a wide-ranging impact on people’s health and well-being. Choirs and recreational singing groups help people build social networks and provide them with opportunities for meaningful interaction. Singing together strengthens people’s sense of belonging and reduces loneliness. It can relieve depression and anxiety and help people concentrate and unwind. Singing can support the cognitive functions of the elderly in particular and people’s language learning in multilingual groups. Singing can also lower a person’s blood pressure and heart rate.
Together, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland have awarded a total of around €1.5 million to the four-year project Kaikki laulaa – Alla sjunger – Everybody Sings. It is organised by Sulasol (the Finnish Amateur Musicians’ Association) and Finlands svenska sång- och musikförbund FSSMF (the Swedish Amateur Musicians’ Association in Finland). A wide range of organisations, associations and experts associated with music and singing took part in the preparatory phase of the project.
“Singing is a cultural activity that is accessible to everyone. Our common goal is to get all of Finland singing, regardless of age or background,” says Päivi Loponen-Kyrönseppä, Senior Advisor to the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
The Everybody Sings project is divided into two parts: Everybody Sings and Singing Municipality. Everybody Sings brings communal singing to events and festivals, while Singing Municipality offers support for the development of local song culture.
Åsa Juslin”Singing together is a great way to cross language and cultural borders, because everyone’s voice is equally important.”
Singing Municipality is modelled on a Norwegian project
The Singing Municipality programme brings the joy of singing to localities across Finland by providing training and support for the development of activities related to singing. In the Singing Municipality model, the municipality works together with at least two other organisations. The programme will be launched in a few pilot municipalities in autumn 2026. Other municipalities will be able to apply to the programme later through an open call for applications.
The municipalities and their partners receive expert guidance and financial support for strengthening local song culture. Singing can be made a part of various events, everyday life in retirement homes or the integration of immigrants, for example.
“Singing together is a great way to cross language and cultural borders, because everyone’s voice is equally important. We hope that the project will create joy, new friendships and, in the long term, increased wellbeing and understanding between people,” says Åsa Juslin, Senior Agent at the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland.
Singing Municipality is inspired by the Norwegian project Syngende Kommune, which has been inspiring people to sing for more than a decade. Dozens of Norwegian municipalities have participated in the project, creating new singing traditions, community singalongs, song activities in schools and care units, and multicultural singing groups.
The second part of the project brings singing to wherever people are gathering. In the future, Everybody Sings singalongs will be organised in conjunction with festivals and other events. Entry to these low-threshold community events is always free, and anyone can organise them.
Päivi Loponen-Kyrönseppä
Competition Director, Senior Advisor
Mirjam Helin Singing Competition, Mirjam Helin Singing Academy
