Finland, confirmed for the ninth consecutive year as the happiest country in the world in the World Happiness Report 2026, launches an extraordinary international opportunity aimed at the people of lonely hearts. The national tourism board Visit Finland has opened applications for the campaign Finnish Dinner Datesa project that will select 16 singles from every corner of the planet to offer them a 4-day all-expenses-paid stay from 9 to 19 February 2027.
The format includes a guided itinerary to discover the winter wonders of the area which will culminate in an exclusive group dinner “in the dark”. 8 international travelers and 2 local singles will sit around each table to share a gourmet experience designed to make participants fall in love with Nordic flavors and, perhaps, with a new partner.
The destinations between Helsinki and Tampere and the leading chefs
The final destination of the experience will remain a surprise until the winners are selected. Half of the lucky ones will land in the capital Helsinki, among covered markets, iconic architecture and the sauna ritual with a dip in the frozen Baltic Sea. Here the main dinner will be created by Adele Kinnunen, head chef of Café Savoy and runner-up to MasterChef Suomi Professionalswith courses based on creamy salmon soup, smoked fish, game and the typical sweet cardamom brioche sandwich called pulla.
The other half of the participants will instead fly to Tampere, the sauna capital of the world with over 70 public facilities nestled in the lake region. The menu of the third Finnish city will bear the signature of Henry Tikkanen, manager of the Gösta restaurant and former national representative at Bocuse d’Or 2003which will serve local specialties based on lake fish, mushrooms, berries and the famous black sausage mustamakkara paired with cranberry jam.
The application requirements, the November 10th deadline and the announcement of the winners
Participating in the selection requires a simple procedure structured into two operational phases. First, each candidate must make a short video in English answering the question “What would you serve on a dinner date, and why?” (what would you serve for a romantic dinner and why).
The film must be published on social networks by 11:59 Finnish time (10:59 in Italy) on Tuesday 10 November 2026, using the hashtag #FinnishDinnerDate and tagging the official accounts @ourfinland on Instagram, @visitfinland.com on TikTok or @VisitFinland on YouTube (where inclusion as an unlisted video is also permitted).
The second mandatory step is to fill out the online form on the official Visit Finland portal by inserting the direct link to your clip. The examining commission will privately communicate the victory to the 16 lucky ones and then make their names official on 1 December 2026 on its official social channels.
