2023
Where and when? Helsinki, Suvilahti. From Friday ’til Sunday, 11.–13.8.2023
Visitors: 90 000
Venues: 10
Artists: 157
Highlights: Lorde’s long-awaited debut performance in Finland and Blur’s return to festival stages after an eight-year hiatus. New venues Silver Arena and X Garden.
Website: http://archive.flowfestival.com/2023/ Please note that some imagery or links might not work correctly on the archived site.)
Flow Festival 2023 was celebrated in sunny weather from 11–13 August. Over the festival weekend, nearly 90,000 visitors gathered at Suvilahti to enjoy over 150 music acts, carefully curated art, an engaging talk program, and a fantastic food selection by over 40 restaurants. Among the many highlights was Lorde’s highly anticipated debut performance in Finland, which captivated the festival audience on a sold-out Saturday night. On Flow’s Main Stage, the festival audience also witnessed Britpop legend Blur’s return to the stages, the spectacular dance party by the king of Afrobeats, Wizkid, the trailblazing indie pop artist Caroline Polachek, performance by the cult band DEVO on their farewell tour, and shows by top Finnish artists Paperi T, Anna Puu, and Yona & Tapiola Sinfonietta.
In Flow’s dazzling new tent, Silver Arena, the stage was taken over by artists such as Kaytranada, 070 Shake, Tove Lo, and Christine and the Queens. In the new venue, X Garden, DJs from three collectives, U-Haul, Club Zero, and Korgy, kept the party going throughout the weekend.
In total, Flow featured more than 150 performing artists and groups, such as Shygirl, Moderat, High Vis, Balming Tiger, and Sudan Archives. All the performers of 2023 are listed at the end of the page.
Once again, Flow offered the enjoyment of magnificent art. In the Tiilikello x Polestar art space, a striking installation, Gasp, by Thijs Biersteker demonstrated invisible air pollutants. At The Other Sound x Sun Effects venue, Merle Karppi‘s artwork Ahdas aimed to depict the experience of climate anxiety. Musta olemus, a collaboration between Jere Suontausta and Antti Hevosmaa, invited festival-goers to pause amidst the celebration.
The high-quality and diverse restaurant selection of Flow Festival 2023 brought a combination of fine-dining dishes, restaurants inspired by various world cuisines, and beloved festival treats to Suvilahti. Working towards a more sustainable event production, Flow Festival continued its policy of no red meat or poultry served in its restaurants. The Flow Impacts study proved that the harmful climate effects of the food at the 2022 festival were nearly 50 % smaller compared to 2019, thanks to the practice. In terms of beverages, the wide selection included quality wines, craft brewery products, and non-alcoholic drink options.
Flow Talks, which received considerable attention last year, returned to the festival as a full weekend program of discussions. Flow Talks Music, held on Friday, dove into the internationalisation of the Finnish music industry and was organised in collaboration with YouTube and Musiikkiala.fi. The panellists included Sari Multala, Nasima Razmyar, Mikko Manninen, Heidi Jern, and Teemu Brunila. Helsingin Sanomat’s Flow Talks Musta Laatikko offered live-quality journalism to the audience on Saturday. Sunday’s Flow Talks Sustainability focused on sustainable development in a keynote and discussion led by Thomas Kolster.
In addition, Sunday’s Flow Talks included the Sustainable Meal panel, where a jury selected the festival’s most sustainable and delicious dish based on ecological assessment and panel tasting. Festival-goers also chose their favourite Sustainable Meal through popular vote. Loi Loi’s Mapo Tofu Loaded Nuggets won the competition, and the audience favourite was the Colourful Vegan “Chicken” Taco dish from Satama’s Taco Bar. The Sustainable Meal panel’s judges included responsibility expert Noora Shingler, food journalist and chef Hanna Hurtta, and environmental advocate Ami Värtö.
Flow’s responsibility program, Sustainable Flow, continued to expand. The results of the Flow Impacts research, conducted with an expert company for a sustainable future, D-mat, were prominently displayed as data visualisations produced by Tietoevry on Main Stage’s screens. Regarding social responsibility, new steps were taken, as an equality and harassment contact person’s services were made available to all festival visitors, employees, volunteers and performers for the first time.
Said about Flow:
«Flow Festival is future facing, friendly, and fantastically fun»
– The Line of Best Fit
«Flow is a festival unique in its appeal and superb in its execution.»
– NME
Photos: © Petri Anttila, Konstantin Kondrukhov, Riikka Vaahtera, Samuli Pentti, Samuli Vienola, Andrew Taylor, and Janne Hirvonen / Majakanvahti.
CONTINUE YOUR TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
Look at photos: Go through Flow Festival 2023 photos on Flickr.
Browse the archived website:
http://archive.flowfestival.com/2023/
Please note that some imagery or links might not work correctly on the archived site.
Listen to the official Flow Festival 2023 playlist on Spotify:
Flow Festival 2023 artists in alphabetical order
AAH!
Alma
Amyl and the Sniffers
Anna Puu
Arushi Jain
Awesome Tapes
Bizi
Blur
Brìghde Chaimbeul
Business City
C.FRIM
Carlina Carpelan
Caroline Polachek
Ceb
Chaos in the CBD
Christine and the Queens
Club Zero x Garden
CNA
Coco Ninja
Claire Rousay
DEVO
DJ Goodblood
DJ Hamm, MC Enoch Gyasi & Aakusti
DJ Heartstring
DJ Hermanni
DJ Hansin, MC Enoch Gyasi & Aakusti
DJ JVS
DJ Kurro
DJ Lulu
DJ Matti Nives
DJ Mojo
DJ Renaz
DJ Voices
DJSoulseek
DOMi & JD Beck
Eevil Stöö & Stepa
Ege Zulu
Elsi Sloan
Eris Drew & Octo Octa
Esa’s Afro-Synth Band ft. Kamazu
Fiona Timantti
Folamour
FWU
Galactic Mace
Glayden (Live)
Gop Tun DJs
Habibi Funk
High Vis
Hitoshi
Horace Andy & Dub Asante Band ft. Matic Horns
HUNEE
Ima Iduozee
Inter Alia & Niko Demus
Jake Xerxes Fussell
Jami Faltin
Jaye Ward
John Gómez
Jori Hulkkonen
Jockstrap
Jyoty
Justus Arvelin
Kampire
Kaisa’s Machine
Karri Koira
Kaytranada
Kelela
Kissa
Knife Girl
Korgy X Garden
Kube
Lil’ Tony
Litku Klemetti Viihdeorkesteri
Lorde
Louie Vega
Marc Fred b2b Maria Wesander
Markus Krunegård
Mauskovic Dance Band
Maya Shenfeld
Mechanic
Meshell Ndegeocello
MFM
Mika Kallio Gong Odyssey
Mikko Sarvanne Garden
Miika2theMax
Modem
Moderat
Nala Sinephro
Ne Galaktiset
Nelma U & Safira
Nene H
Nooriyah
Nyky Ensemble ja Liisa Pentti +co: Ref2022
Olavi Uusivirta 40/20
Olli Ahvenlahti – The Poet 2
Paha Vaanii
Paul Seul
Pearly Drops
pehmoaino
Pihlaja
Renata do Valle
Ruusut
Sadar Bahar b2b Ge-ology
Sallidoing
Sami Sierla
Sansibar
Sexmane
Shygirl
Sofa
Sonia
Speedy J
Suede
Suva
Synteettinen Suomi
Teddy Rok: Atonal Drums
Tereza
The New Boyfriends
Toimi Tytti
Tove Lo
U-Haul Resident Line Up
U-Haul x Garden
Valtteri Laurell Nonet
Victoria b2b Ocean People
Waxfiend
Wizkid
Xample Live
Yeboyah (DJ Set)
Yona & Tapiola Sinfonietta
Yung Sherman
Zesty