The Grand Opening of Christmas Season 2024. Santa Claus Village, Arctic Circle

The Grand Opening of Christmas Season – Countdown to Christmas is an annual celebration honouring the Christmas traditions of sharing Christmas spirit and good will. This year the event takes place at 18:00 on the 3rd of November at the central square of Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi. The musical Christmas performances take the audience into the merry moods of Christmas and Winter. The traditional Christmas Opening culminates in Santa’s arrival and speech – what does Santa want to tell us this year?

Event is free of charge and live streamed online.

Getting to Santa Claus Village: Free bus connection between Rovaniemi city centre and Santa Claus Village at 17-20. There will be two buses driving non-stop during that time. Starting point in the city centre is next to Santa’s Hotel Santa Claus (Korkalonkatu 31).

You can get back to the Rovaniemi City Centre after the event with our free non-stop bus connection (Liikenne O. Niemelä), last bus leaves from the Santa Claus Village at 20:00.

The live broadcast from Santa Claus Village starts at 17:45 Finnish time (UTC +2). The duration of the event is about 30 min, at 18:00-18:30 (local time, UTC +2). View the event live on Facebook or via Livestream.

Note! SantaPark will open the doors for the Christmas season few days before, Fri 1.11. www.santapark.fi