The 13th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition was a huge success – People watched the competition online from all over the world

The 2025 Sibelius Violin Competition received significant attention.  More than 6,000 people attended the event at the Sibelius Academy’s R-building and Music Centre concert halls. The first and second rounds attracted 1,833 and the final rounds 4,224 listeners respectively. These figures are higher than ever before.

Broadcasts on Finnish Broadcasting Company’s online service Yle Areena could also be viewed outside of Finland, attracting audiences in the competitors’ home countries from Asia to America. A total of 165,000 people watched the competition, and an estimated 50,000 listeners tuned in to the radio broadcasts on weekday evenings. These figures are also exceptionally good.

The competition also generated significant international interest, particularly on Instagram, where posts about the event received 1.9 million views during the competition month.

The supplementary programme  also attracted interest

The public showed great enthusiasm for the supplementary programme, which was open to all and took place alongside the competition itself.

The STRADIVARI AND FRIENDS event on 26 May, hosted by one of the world’s leading violin experts and dealers, the London-based Beare’s Violin Society, introduced the audience to the secrets of valuable violins in the Music Centre Auditorium.

The competition collects audience feedback

The Sibelius Violin Competition is collecting audience feedback to help further develop the event. This feedback will be analysed and used to assist with the planning of the next competition. Feedback will also be collected from the competitors in a separate survey.