The city of Oulu participates in the Oulu Pride Week August 3–9, 2026

The Oulu Pride week is celebrated on August 3–9. This year, the theme of Oulu Pride is Queer Culture. The goal of Oulu Pride is to promote equality, non-discrimination, and human rights.   

Oulu City Strategy 2035 states that the city’s strength is in its different people and neighborhoods. There is space, time, and opportunities for encounters and learning new things here. The vision of the Wellbeing Plan is Nordic Shine! in Everyday Life – a wellbeing, participatory, and equal Oulu. According to the vision, everyone has the opportunity to live a good life in all stages of life in Oulu. Wellbeing is reinforced through communality and shared work, safe environments, active lifestyles, culture, competence, and supporting lifelong learning. Oulu shines as a city of encounters – a place where participation, equality, and trust are building a good everyday life.   

The Oulu for All project is building a more equal working culture where everyone can be themselves freely. The project reinforces the personnel’s diversity and equality competence and highlights the experiences of gender and sexual minorities for the first time through diversity surveys. Knowledge-based, concrete measures are developed to ensure that the city of Oulu is a safe, inclusive, and equal workplace for all.  

The library participates in the Park Celebration. Central Library Saari organizes a Pride Week Storytime on August 4 at 18.00. Artist MCHarakka will perform in the Kiiminki Library on August 8 at 16.00, in the Sykesali Hall. Additionally, book exhibitions will be held throughout the week.   

Oulu Art Museum’s Tomorrow’s Wardrobe is a large exhibition that takes over most of the museum. It brings together future names and pioneers of clothing design. Their methods highlight sustainability, curiosity for the significance of the diversity of genders and bodies, and and experiential approach to renewing the expression of forms. A curated tour on August 9, at 14.00–15.00 guides visitors through the exhibition that bring together diversity, queer expression, and creativity.  

Youth Services offers many activities during Oulu Pride: a summer evening for LGBTQ youth, customizing workshop on Friday, and Youth Pridehouse in Raatti on Saturday. Youth Services participates in the Pride March and joins the Park Celebration by hosting a tent and encountering young people at the picnic.  

Oulu is the European Capital of Culture in 2026. Oulu is, and always will be, a city of technology. In the future, we want to be a bold cultural city as well. We believe that culture plays a significant role in creating hope and success. 

Oulu2026’s goal is Cultural Climate Change that means a fixed, richer cultural life. It means the will to bring people together and introduce joy into life, but also to expand our thought patterns and understand and listen to each other. Cultural Climate Change feeds creativity and development. It is the spark of ideas that will change the future.  

Thus, the Oulu Pride is a natural part of the European Capital of Culture. Oulu Pride is part of the official Oulu2026 programme.  

Read more about the Oulu Pride at the address: https://oulupride.fi/en/