Walk of Fame Finland

The Walk of Fame Finland is a street that honours music, artists and musicians in the footsteps of Hollywood and the first national and international Walk of Fame in Finland. The Walk of Fame is located on Åkerlundinkatu street in the Tulli area in Tampere.

The street, opened in the birthplace of Manserock, brings life to the streets of Tampere and the stories of music to the residents and tourists. Each year, 3–8 new star recipients are nominated, and they can be suggested by the public. The nominations take into account nationwide impact, diversity and equality, for example in terms of gender and age. Tampere’s musical heritage also plays a key role in the selections.

Why is the Walk of Fame in Tampere?

• Tampere is the home of the Manserock phenomenon and an attractive city of culture, music and tourism.
• Artists and musicians of national and international significance have emerged from Tampere.
• Many of the most significant Finnish music companies have been founded in Tampere. For example, located along the Walk of Fame is Headline Studio, where many masterpieces of Finnish rock have been born.
• The world's third oldest event for music professionals, Music x Media, has been organised in Tampere for 30 years, and it has brought nearly a thousand quests to Tampere, from over 25 countries, who represent the recording, publishing, live, distribution, production, and media sectors. Music x Media is the most important channel for the Finnish music industry to enter international markets.
• Tampere has the most active community of music clubs in Finland. This is illustrated by the fact that musicians and other industry professionals in Tampere receive the highest amount of Teosto royalties in Finland.

The story behind the Walk of Fame

The music scene in Tampere is exceptionally active and versatile by all measures. Every year, several dozen music festivals are held in the city, and Tampere also hosts the most live gigs in Finland relative to the number of residents. There are approximately 20 active gig venues and the same number of record labels. Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra is the northern crown jewel of classical music, and at the other end of the scale, the city's foolishly broad and high-quality underground scene produces indie gems from extreme metal to electro. Music x Media, established by Tampere music pioneers in 1989, is the most important event for music professionals in the Nordic countries.

While Helsinki is the commercial centre of the Finnish music industry, Tampere is the spiritual home and melting furnace: a place where the agrarian spirit and urban heartbeat merged into down-to-earth, unpretentious, uncompromising, and thoroughly Finnish popular music.

While rising production costs and energy crises began to erode the viability of traditional industries in the 1970s, the student movement of the 1960s, the relaxation of censorship and alcohol policy and especially the crumbling power of big music houses and the unified culture at the turn of the 1970s gave birth to the counterculture and the current popular music scene in Tampere.

The Old Student House, one of the classics of Finnish venues, opened in its current form in 1969. In 1971, Tapio Korjus established an event agency in Tampere, which later developed into Rockadillo Records. In 1972, the music magazine Musa was born, and Soundi and Pahkasika followed three years later. Epe's, opened by Epe Helenius in 1972, was the first Finnish record shop that focused on rock music, and in 1977 Helenius founded the legendary Poko Rekords. Tampere’s journey to become the star of Finnish music life had begun.

The Tulli area is perhaps the best symbol of Tampere's transformation from an industrial city to a cultural one. In 1970s, more and more buildings and city plans shifted their focus towards commercial and office uses, which was the first concrete, local manifestation of change in post-industrial times. Towards the end of the 1980s, the rate of change accelerated even further. Tampere Hall was inaugurated in 1990, and the cultural focus of the Tulli area was strengthened when Tullikamari and Pakkahuone became a cultural centre in 1988. In 1996, the old mill of Maantuote was transformed into Telakka, a cultural venue and restaurant.

(Source: Analyysiraportti: Tullin alueen yleissuunnitelma 22.2.2016)

Contact information

The Walk of Fame Finland is implemented in cooperation by the City of Tampere, Tampere Hall Ltd and Music x Media. The project partner is Bauer Media Ltd.

The short address for this page is tampere.fi/en/walkoffamefinland