Today, for the seventh year in a row, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world by the annual United Nations World Happiness Report, holding the top title since 2018.
Finns are proud and grateful for this prestigious title, believing that the key to their unique style of happiness is found in four basic elements: a close connection to nature, a down-to-earth lifestyle, food from fresh ingredients, and a sustainable approach to life.
According to Finns themselves, Finnish happiness is not a state secret or great mystery; instead, it is a learnable set of skills. From a walk in the forest or a dip in the sea after sauna to a meal made of freshly foraged local ingredients, these are the daily hacks of Finnish happiness.
To celebrate being the happiest country in the world, and following the success of 2023’s Masterclass in Happiness, Finland’s official tourism arm and Helsinki Partners are seeking applicants from around the globe to attend a happiness hack-a-thon and take part in a five-day curated experience in the happiest capital in the world, Helsinki.
The Helsinki Happiness Hacks urban expedition, taking place in June 2024, will be entirely free of charge for the chosen participants, who will learn from five Helsinkians as they share their tips and tricks for achieving happiness in the city. Apply now for your upcoming vacation at the event page here.
These include seventy-year-old skateboard enthusiast and passionate swimmer, Lena Salmi, who will reveal the new rules of urban swimming; chef and owner of several restaurants renowned for sustainability, Luka Balac, to share his local approach to social gastronomy; and well-being expert and biologist, Adela Pajunen, will expose what the doctor may order in Finland—which may just be a walk in the woods.
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Designer Tero Kuitunen offers a bike ride around town to show how urban and nature are combined in Helsinki and how this relationship inspires the local design and the Finnish lifestyle, while for the musically included, there’s Tapio Hakanen, also known as one of Finland’s biggest electronic music exports, DJ Orkidea, who invites you to something called a “sauna rave”.
“There is an old Finnish proverb that states ‘the one who has happiness, should hide it.’ As the world’s happiest country since 2018, we have decided to take the old phrase and update it, making our modern motto: ‘the one who has happiness, should share it.’ We are excited to invite people from around the world to learn about our Finnish keys and hacks to happiness,” comments Heli Jimenez, Senior Director of international Marketing at Business Finland.
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“In 2023, we invited global happiness seekers to the world’s first Happiness Masterclass and this year we are thrilled to share an authentic slice of Finnish urban happiness in Helsinki from our own Helsinki Happiness Hackers.”
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