Ilosaarirock, known locally as the best weekend of the summer, takes place over three days in Joensuu, Finland from the 14th to the 16th of July, 2023. The festival is held at a scenic lakeside location, and is within walking distance from the city centre.
Ilosaarirock has been running since 1971. The festival is organised by Joensuu Pop Musicians’ Association, a non-profit organisation founded on the idea of supporting the live music scene.
Ilosaarirock Festival is much loved and treasured by both the organisers and guests, bringing together a crowd of some 70 000 people annually for one happy, lively and openminded weekend.
Ticket Types and Prices
All ticket types, including three-day, two-day and one-day tickets as well as three-day and one-day VIP tickets to the 2023 edition of Ilosaarirock Festival are now available for purchase.
Ticket prices (valid until 31st of May, 2023):
3 DAYS 189 €
2 DAYS 159 €
1 DAY 109 €
VIP 3 DAYS 299 €
VIP 1 DAY 169 €
Possible service fees will be added on to the ticket prices at point of purchase.
All festival tickets will be exchanged for wristbands before entering the festival area. Read more about wristband exchange here.
Points of Sale
Tickets to the 2023 edition of Ilosaarirock Festival can be purchased from Tiketti and Lippu.fi’s web stores and outlets.
In Joensuu, you can purchase tickets at Prisma and at all R-Kioski’s. You can check your nearest points of sale on each of the ticket sellers’ websites.
VIP
Ilosaarirock VIP offers an exclusive and unforgettable way to experience the festival. Our VIP customers gain access to restricted VIP areas near the festival’s Main Stage and Main Tent. Comfortable seating areas and exclusive drink menus available only to our VIP customers are just a few of the perks that come with the Ilosaarirock VIP experience.
VIP ticket holders will be able to enter the festival site by using the VIP entry lane. VIP ticket holders also have access to indoor bathrooms inside the festival area.
Ilosaarirock’s VIP is R-18. Please note that the VIP tickets do not include any food or drink.
Age Limits
Ilosaarirock Festival does not have an age limit, but we do recommend that children under 12 years old are accompanied by an adult. Under 8-year-olds get in for free with an adult who has a ticket.
If you do attend Ilosaarirock with children, please note that the festival should be attended on children’s terms: late nights and tens of thousands of festival guests are not a suitable environment for the youngest and smallest of the family. Please offer a safe festival experience to all children!
Ticket Returns
Changes to the line-up, schedules and other arrangements of the festival are always possible and will be communicated without delay. The general practice is that festival tickets cannot be returned or refunded due to such events.
All Ilosaarirock festival tickets are exchanged for wristbands before entering the festival area. The chip in the wristband serves as an access pass to the festival area, allowing re-entry and exit throughout the festival.
Wristbands are exchanged at the wristband exchange point located in the courtyard of Joensuu Art Museum Onni (‘Joensuun taidemuseo Onni’) from Wednesday to Friday during the festival week. The festival area's wristband exchange point is open from Wednesday to Sunday.
VIP customers can also exchange their wristbands at their dedicated VIP wristband exchange at Louhela field, in addition to the regular wristband exchange points.
Please note that those staying at Holiday Linnunlahti campground must also exchange their wristbands at Ilosaarirock's wristband exchange points. The campsite does not have its own wristband exchange.
Wristband Exchange Opening Hours
Wristband exchange point in the city center, in the courtyard of Onni:
Wed 12th July, from 10 am to 7 pm
Thu 13th July, from 10 am to 7 pm
Fri 14th July, from 10 am to 7 pm
Festival area wristband exchange and VIP wristband exchange:
Wed 12th July, from 10 am to 7 pm
Thu 13th July, from 10 am to 7 pm
Fri 14th July, from 12 pm to 11 pm
Sat 15th July, from 11 am to 8 pm
Sun 16th July, from 12 pm to 5 pm
Wristbands can be exchanged at the main gate information point during the festival’s opening hours when the wristband exchange points are closed.
Getting to Joensuu
Ilosaarirock takes place in Eastern Finland, in the Laulurinne park (Google maps: Linnunlahdentie 3), which is located approximately one kilometre from the Joensuu city centre. The city is easily reached by train, bus, air or by car.
The Joensuu railway station and bus stops are less than two kilometres from the Ilosaarirock festival site. Free-of-charge “Rokkibussi” festival shuttle buses transport festival-goers from and to the railway station to the Ilosaarirock festival site during the festival weekend.
If you are driving to Ilosaarirock, it’s a great idea to load up the car with other festival-goers! There are a number of car-sharing organisations which pair drivers with passengers. You could also check out the car share (“kimppakyyti”) groups on different social media platforms.
Audience transport to and from Ilosaarirock puts more strain on the environment than any other aspect of the event. That’s why we encourage everyone to arrive by foot or bike, if possible, or by public transport or car shares. In addition to saving money and having fun company for the ride, you’ll be doing Mother Nature a favour too!
Parking for Bikes
You can leave your bike in a secure cycle parking area located right next to the festival entrance. The paid bicycle park is open all festival weekend long, and a ticket costs 3 € per parking. You can purchase a ticket at the point of entry.
The bicycle parking area is open:
On Friday 14th of July, from 12pm to 2.30am
On Saturday 15th of July, from 11am to 2am
On Sunday 16th of July, from 12pm to 1.30am
You may also park your own electric scooter in the bicycle parking area. Driving shared rental e-scooters inside or in the immediate vicinity of the festival area is strictly forbidden, and you cannot park your shared e-scooter inside the bicycle parking area. Shared rental e-scooters can be parked at separate, designated areas marked specifically for them.
Please collect your bike or e-scooter from the bicycle parking area before it closes. There are no guards in the cycle parking area at night, and Ilosaarirock is not responsible for any uncollected items left there.
Parking Areas for Cars
A monitored single-day parking area for passenger cars can be found right near the festival grounds, in front of the racecourse. The single-day parking area is open every day. The fee for leaving your car in the festival single-day car park is 20 euros per day, and tickets can be purchased in advance on our website.
Single-day Parking Area is open:
On Friday 14th of July, from 1pm to 2.30am
On Saturday 15th of July, from 11am to 2am
On Sunday 16th of July, from 12pm to 1.30am
Please note that the single-day parking area is not monitored at night. Sleeping in cars is strictly forbidden. Ilosaarirock is responsible for the arrangements related to the parking areas.
In addition to the single-day parking area, there are also parking spaces organized by external parties near the festival area. Please note that during the Ilosaarirock week, street parking, for example, may be prohibited in certain areas, and parking times may differ from the usual.
During the festival weekend, you can lodge at the Holiday Linnunlahti campsite that’s located in the immediate vicinity of the festival site, stay in hotels around Joensuu city centre or book a rental home or apartment from the locals.
Holiday Linnunlahti
Holiday Linnunlahti is a campsite that’s located right next to the festival site. Holiday Linnunlahti is the official campsite of the city of Joensuu. You may stay in a rental cottage, a tent or your own campervan or caravan at Holiday Linnunlahti.
Holiday Linnunlahti is responsible for the arrangements of the camping area and the sale of camping tickets. For any inquiries related to the accommodation, please contact Linnunlahti directly. Ilosaarirock does not have its own camping area.
More information and bookings:
www.linnunlahti.fi
sales@linnunlahti.fi
Hotels in Joensuu
The nearest hotels are located in Joensuu city centre, approximately a 1,5 kilometer distance from the Ilosaarirock festival site. We strongly recommend booking your hotel stay well in advance as the city of Joensuu tends to get very busy during the Ilosaarirock weekend!
• Sokos Hotel Kimmel
• Sokos Hotel Vaakuna
• Scandic Joensuu
• GreenStar Hotel Joensuu
• Lietsu Boutique Aparthotel
Alternative Accommodations
Once Ilosaarirock nears, more private accommodation options become available. Accommodations such as locals’ apartments and vacation homes can be searched for on AirBnb or Tori.fi.
Please be aware of possible scammers when reserving your private accommodations! We recommend you book your stay via verified channels or people you know and can identify. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is! Ilosaarirock Festival is not responsible for any possible scams you may encounter when reserving a private accommodation.
The festival site Laulurinne park has large lawns and grassy areas as well as a nice beach. Walking from place to place within the festival grounds is mainly done on sandy pathways. Access to the festival grounds will be from the Main Gate. The cloakroom & property lock-ups are located in between the Main Gate and the security check point.
Throughout the weekend, festival goers are treated to amazing bands on four different stages, additional entertainment, visual experiences as well as tasty food and drink.
Payment Methods
The accepted methods of payment at Ilosaarirock are the most common debit cards, credit cards as well as contactless payment and contactless mobile payment methods.
Within the festival grounds, you'll also find dedicated payment lanes provided by our partner MobilePay at the bars, allowing you to conveniently pay for your drinks using a QR code. MobilePay is free for customers of all Finnish banks. You can download the app from your phone's app store.
Cash isn’t accepted as a method of payment at Ilosaarirock at all.
Information Point and Lost & Found
The Ilosaarirock information point is located right next to the Main Gate. The information point will solve all the festival goers’ problems from a missing ticket to a lost backpack. The info point also sells festival tickets, unless they are sold out in advance.
During the festival weekend, the information point is also the Ilosaarirock Lost & Found. After the festival, on Monday at 12 pm, all the lost property will be forwarded to a local lost property service called “Pohjois-Karjalan löytötavarapalvelu”. Their contact info can be found at: www.pklp.fi.
Cloakroom & Property Lock-Up
The cloakroom & property lock-up, where you can leave your extra belongings for a fee, is located in the zone after the festival Main Gate. The cloakroom is open on every festival day. Every visit to the cloakroom & property lock-up costs 4 €.
Opening hours are:
Friday 14th of July, from 2 pm to 2.30 am
Saturday 15th of July, from 12 pm to 2 am
Sunday 16th of July, from 1 pm to 1 am
Due to limited space, we cannot store alcoholic beverages in the property lock-up. Please only pack things you can carry with you.
Make sure you collect your belongings from the cloakroom before it closes. All uncollected belongings will be delivered to the Lost & Found located at the Info Point. Ilosaarirock is not responsible for any uncollected items.
Food, Drink and Water Taps
There are plenty of food vendors and eateries around the Ilosaarirock festival grounds serving a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan food. Specific dietary requirements have also been taken into account.
The Ilosaarirock festival site boasts multiple bar areas for all of our over 18-year-old festival guests (the minimum legal drinking age in Finland is 18). Please be prepared to prove your age by presenting your ID! All bars are stocked with a wide selection of excellent beverages and drinks – and each bar area also has its own specialties. Non-alcoholic options are also always available in all our bars. There’s also a bar that serves non-alcoholic drinks only.
In addition to ordering from and frequenting the various food vendors and bars inside our festival area, you are also allowed to bring your own food and non-alcoholic drinks inside the festival area. There are plenty of water taps around the festival site where you can fill your bottle with fresh water. The tap water in the Joensuu region is tested and proven to be of excellent quality! Small juice boxes / cartons (with straws) are also allowed. Bringing glass bottles or any kind of alcohol to the festival grounds is not allowed.
Regular-sized packed lunches, such as sandwiches, fruit, candy, snacks etc. are allowed.
Toilets and Hand Washing Stations
Ilosaarirock has plenty of toilets and urinals located both inside and outside the festival site to bring relief from full bladders. Don’t be a jackass – pee in the toilets, not in bushes or especially not on walls or in people’s gardens.
There are multiple toilet blocks inside the festival area. Each zone has wheelchair accessible disabled toilets, which have signs on the doors, stating that customers in wheelchairs, other festival goers who need to use an accessible toilet or holders of a Toilet Card / Can’t Wait Card (“Vessapassi” in Finnish) are entitled to use the accessible toilet and have the right to jump any possible queues.
The toilets at Ilosaarirock are gender-neutral unisex toilets. We only make the distinction of having separate areas for those peeing standing up or sitting down. For those peeing standing up, the toilet areas have urinals.
All the large toilet blocks have hand washing facilities with running water and eco-friendly soap. The hand washing stations are not meant for filling up your water bottle. There are plenty of water points all over the festival site, where you can refill your reusable water bottle.
Festival & Artist Merchandise
Ilosaarirock's own festival merchandise and fan merchandise of the bands and artists performing at the festival are available for purchase at Ilosaari Shop, located in the Main Stage area.
Ilosaarirock merchandise can also be bought in advance at shop.ilosaarirock.fi.
Phone Charging
If your phone battery runs out on the festival site, there are free-of-charge phone charging stations provided by our partner Pohjois-Karjalan Sähkö for all festival attendees to use.
Earplugs
Remember to protect your hearing - please use earplugs or earmuffs! If you forget your own earplugs at home, they are also sold at the festival area, for example at Ilosaari Lounge.
Elevate your festival experience to new heights as an Ilosaarirock VIP customer! As an Ilosaarirock VIP ticket holder, you get to enjoy the atmosphere of Ilosaarirock in a unique way. In addition to the festival's other programs and services, you gain access to fantastic VIP areas that provide everything you need to create a five-star festival experience without compromising on quality!
Ticket Types
Ilosaarirock VIP offers three-day and single-day tickets. All VIP ticket types are available for purchase on Ilosaarirock's website, as well as on Tiketti and Lippu.fi's points of sale.
The VIP ticket (18+) includes:
- Ilosaarirock's music and site-specific art experiences, as well as all services.
- Admission to the festival area.
- Access to comfortable VIP areas near the Main Stage and Tent Stage, offering special restaurant and drink services, pleasant seating areas, and flush toilets.
- Personal VIP wristband for access to the festival area and VIP areas, allowing you to move freely in and out
- Wristband exchange at the dedicated VIP wristband exchange point.
- VIP lane at the festival's main entrance and security checks.
- VIP cloakroom services with three (3) free visits per day.
Please note that Ilosaarirock VIP tickets do not include any food or drinks.
VIP Areas
Ilosaarirock VIP includes two separate VIP areas located in front of the festival's main stages: the Main Stage VIP and the Tent Stage VIP. Both areas feature tastefully decorated VIP spaces with high-quality services.
The VIP bars offer a wide range of drinks to suit every taste, including champagne, specialty beers, shots, and mocktails.
The Main Stage VIP is a two-story building located near the festival's largest performance stage, providing the best views of both the stage and the crowd in front of it. Inside the building, there is an exclusive bar offering a wide selection of delights, and the cozy courtyard offers numerous resting spots where you can enjoy performances on the Main Stage or simply bask in the best days of summer. Adjacent to the VIP building, there is a brand new restroom area with flush toilets, ensuring a pleasant festival experience.
At the Tent Stage VIP area, you can relax, enjoy drinks, dine well, and socialize with other VIP guests thanks to our excellent restaurant tent. The comfortable terrace area allows you to dance to the rhythm of Tent Staget's performers or lounge and indulge in the VIP bar's drink offerings in cozy seating areas. The Tent Stage VIP area can be entered directly from the festival area using the exclusive entrance specifically designated for VIP customers. Restrooms exclusively for VIP customers are located right next to the VIP area.
Every day, the Tent Stage VIP restaurant tent offers a delicious buffet prepared by the finest restaurant in town, Ravintola Kerubi, exclusively for VIP guests.
VIP Services
VIP customers need to exchange their tickets for personal VIP wristbands before entering the festival area. The wristband is placed on your wrist at the wristband exchange point and serves as your access pass to the festival area and VIP services.
A dedicated wristband exchange point is available for VIP customers, operating from Wednesday to Friday during the festival week. The VIP wristband exchange point is located at Louhela field. VIP tickets can also be exchanged for wristbands at other general wristband exchange points. You can check the wristband exchange schedule here. During the wristband exchange, any additional products, such as the Tent Stage VIP buffet, can be added to the wristband chip. Please present all your tickets when exchanging for wristbands!
With the VIP wristband, you can easily navigate through the festival's main entrance and security checks using the VIP lanes, directly entering the vibrant heart of the festival area. You can leave your larger belongings at the VIP cloakroom counter located next to the main entrance. Each VIP wristband automatically includes three free visits to the cloakroom per festival day.
VIP Buffet
The high-quality VIP buffet at Ilosaarirock features a generous tapas table in Kerubi's style, as well as a specially designed hot meal for each festival day by the culinary masters. For dessert, you can enjoy cheese and sweet delicacies. The buffet is available daily: Friday from 5 pm to 8 pm, Saturday from 2 pm to 5 pm, and Sunday from 2 pm to 5 pm. The buffet can be purchased in advance for 40 € per day.
Read more about Ilosaarirock’s VIP services and the VIP buffet at our VIP page.
100% of the Ilosaarirock waste is being recycled or used for energy production. There are recycling bins for biodegradable waste, metal, glass, cardboard, plastic packaging, cans and bottles as well as hazardous waste. Additionally, there are over a hundred bins for combustible waste, and separate bins for cigarette butts.
Volunteers at the numerous recycling stations around the festival site instruct you in sorting your waste into the correct recycling bins!
The plates and cutlery used in Ilosaarirock are made of plastic-free cardboard or biodegradable material. They are sorted into energy waste. We stopped using biodegradable dishes, since the local biowaste processing sites are not able to process waste in the quantities produced by the festival. So, large quantities of food waste are sorted into biowaste and the plates and cutlery are sorted into energy waste.
Ilosaarirock is fully committed to ensuring that everyone is welcome and can attend our festival.
The Ilosaarirock festival site is located in a parkland area, where moving from place to place is mainly done on sandy pathways. The area is more or less flat, apart from the uphill leading up to the Tent Stage zone. There is plenty of signage to help you navigate around the festival site.
There is a car park near the festival site with a limited number of free-of-charge disabled parking spaces. Parking in these spaces requires a valid parking card for people with reduced mobility. The accessible taxi (“invataksi”) drop off point is located near the main gate.
Viewing platforms with accessible ramps for customers with reduced mobility are located at the Main Stage, Tent Stage and Rento Stage. Personal Assistants can join the person they are assisting on the viewing platform if there is space. Every platform always has a steward, who can also assist customers with reduced mobility to get onto and off the viewing platform, if needed.
Ilosaarirock allows and encourages the use of a Vessapassi (Toilet Card), which grants the cardholder immediate access to the restroom, bypassing queues and other waiting times at our festival.
A disabled person, who has a right for a Personal Assistant (PA), can bring their PA to the festival free of charge. The PA’s free wristband can be collected from the information point upon arrival to Ilosaarirock, and it does not need to be booked in advance. We recommend you bring a certificate or a form of supporting documentation of your need for a PA, for example an EU Disability Card.
If you have any questions, concerns or feedback regarding our accessibility, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at .
One of Ilosaarirock’s core values is equality. Everyone is welcome at our festival as they are. We want all of our visitors, employees, artists and partners to feel safe and free to express themselves at Ilosaarirock. We do not allow any kind of discrimination at Ilosaarirock.
We have a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment or abuse at Ilosaarirock. Our security guards and festival staff have been trained to recognise incidents of harassment and how to intervene. Additionally, a sexual harassment support person works on site and the police will keep the threshold for reporting crimes low. With all these actions, we want to make sure that the best weekend of the summer is indeed just that, for everyone.
Please respect the physical and mental integrity of each and every one of your fellow revellers and take others into consideration. If you witness or experience any inappropriate behaviour, alert or turn to any of the festival security guards or Ilosaarirock staff members. If needed, we will remove any and all harassers and abusers from the festival area and prevent them from entering again.
Safety first! We want all of our customers to be able to concentrate on enjoying the festival with peace of mind. The Ilosaarirock organisers work closely with different authorities to ensure safety at the event, and the festival has indeed been praised for the smooth running and peacefulness of the event – also by the authorities.
We have hundreds of security guards both inside the festival and camping sites, as well as the areas just outside them, ensuring the safety of our customers. The local police and rescue services as well as the Finnish Red Cross’ first aid and support services are also all on duty on the festival grounds.
We also take part in developing even safer ways of organising events in cooperation with various national and international parties. We are constantly planning and mapping out safe alternatives and options for the event organising industry.
Security Check
Everyone entering the festival grounds will have to go through a security check. The purpose of the checks carried out by the security guards is to prevent any prohibited items or substances being brought into the festival grounds. The final decision about whether an item or a substance is safe to bring into the festival site or not is made by the security guards.
If you are heading for the festival site to see a particular artist’s performance, make sure to allow enough time for the wristband and security checks at the gates. The gates might get congested at certain times.
First Aid
The First Aid station run by the Finnish Red Cross is located right outside of the festival Main Gate and is open 24/7, i.e. around the clock, from Friday to Monday. In addition to that, there are first aid teams on patrol around the festival site. The First Aid station also provides professional emotional support in any kind of situation.
The purpose of our own First Aid station and patrol teams is to not burden the local health centers and hospitals during the busy weekend of Ilosaarirock.
If you need help, you can turn to any member of the first aid or security staff.
Dense Crowds and Crowd Surfing
There are a lot of people at Ilosaarirock. If you feel uncomfortable in tight spaces, it’s best to avoid dense crowds. The crowd pressure can build up very quickly, especially in the front-of-stage areas, and the situation can become very uncomfortable. If you are trapped in a crushing crowd, stay calm and don’t push, move with the crowd instead. If you need help, ask for it loudly.
Crowd surfing, the activity of lying flat while being passed over the heads of the audience (i.e. surfing) is banned. The purpose of this is to avoid and prevent dangerous situations in a large crowd. Sitting on someone’s shoulders is also not allowed.
Mosh pits and walls of death, despite their wild names, are allowed at Ilosaarirock. However, any form of violence within any pit is strictly prohibited. If you see your fellow pitmate fall, please help them up promptly. The security team at Ilosaarirock monitors the activity in the pits and will remove individuals if they engage in any harmful behavior.
Smoking
Smoking is prohibited in the areas in front of the stages and in the tents with performances. There are big ashtrays on the festival grounds with designated smoking areas around them where smoking is allowed. All the festival site smoking restrictions apply also to e-cigarettes/vapes.
Please be respectful of your fellow revellers – not everyone is a fan of cigarette smoke, even outdoors. Be respectful of your environment as well and put all cigarette butts in to the ashtrays provided around the festival area.
Swimming
The Ilosaarirock Rento Stage is on a beach, where you can cool off in the water during the day. However, swimming under the influence/while intoxicated is not safe. The swimming area perimeter is marked with buoys on the water. For the sake of your own safety, please only swim in the designated swimming area. The beach is supervised by security guards and the Joensuu Lake Rescuers (“Joensuun Järvipelastajat”).
Children
All ages are welcome at Ilosaarirock. We recommend that children under the age of 12 be accompanied by an adult.
Please keep in mind to enjoy the festival on the kids’ terms. Being in the throngs of festival goers as the night is drawing in is not the right place for children. Please make sure the children have a substance-free and safe festival experience.
Animals
Bringing animals into Ilosaarirock is not allowed.
Noise
The recommended sound-level exposure values might be exceeded on the festival grounds. Protect your hearing by using earplugs or noise-reduction ear muffs. Earplugs are also sold inside the festival area, for example in Ilosaari Lounge.
Fence Vandalism
The festival and camping sites are surrounded by temporary fencing. Leave the fences be, as they have been put there to ensure the safety of our festival goers and of the nearby residents.
Photography
Using various video and camera equipment is allowed at the festival. SLR and DSLR cameras, GoPros and other action cameras, tablets etc. are allowed, but please leave any big flashes or lights at home. Selfie sticks are also allowed. Drones/UAV’s, however, are not allowed for safety reasons.
Please remember to respect the privacy of your fellow festival goers – so don’t post pictures of other people online without asking for their permission first. The security guards also have the right to ban photography and filming, for example at a performer’s request during their gig.