Tapiola Festival queue stretches over 300 metres in Espoo
Friday 14th August 2026 on 20:00 in
Finland
A queue more than 300 metres long formed at the wristband exchange point for Tapiola Festival in Leppävaara, Espoo, on Friday, frustrating visitors and causing some to miss performances, Yle reports.
Festivalgoers had to exchange their purchased tickets for wristbands before entering the festival grounds. The exchange point was located on the summer terrace of Sello shopping centre, around which the queue wound.
Yle photographer Kristiina Lehto said she waited for one hour and 10 minutes. At its longest, she estimated the queue stretched more than 300 metres.
Festival visitor Raija Saari-Harjunmaa had already been waiting for half an hour and said she had missed Maija Vilkkumaa’s performance.
Maybe we will make it to Apulanta’s show, which is around midnight, she said.
Saari-Harjunmaa said there was only one employee at the exchange point. Visitors with VIP tickets had their own queue, while everyone else waited in the main line.
People are furious because the performances are passing them by, she said, describing the wristband arrangements at Sello’s summer terrace as unsuccessful.
Lehto said the walk from the exchange point to the front of the stage was about one kilometre.
Tomi Lindblom, a spokesperson for the event, said the length of the queue had surprised the organisers. He described the situation as unusual compared with other festivals organised by event producer Loud n Live Promotions.
According to Lindblom, more staff were added to the exchange point after organisers realised that the queue had grown. He said the delay was not caused by a technical fault or another problem, but by a large number of people arriving at the same time.
The longest queue formed after the gates opened, at around three or four in the afternoon, Lindblom said. He added that such queues usually disappear quickly once the initial crowd has entered.
Wristbands could also be exchanged on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as from Friday morning. Lindblom recommended exchanging them in advance and apologised to visitors who had been forced to wait.