Finland is offering singles a free trip to potentially find love

Finland might just be the place you find the love of your life (Picture: Getty Images) Forget Hinge – imagine being able to tell strangers you met your partner on a romantic four-day trip to Finland, alongside 15 other singles. Now that’s a flex. Next February, 16 unattached individuals from around the world will be invited to the Scandinavian heartland to indulge in the finest Finnish cuisine, explore the country’s incredible landscape, and perhaps fall in love. The all expenses paid trip is being hosted by Visit Finland, the country’s official tourism board. Between February 9 and 19, two groups of eight will head to either Helsinki, Finland’s seaside capital or Tampere, known as the ‘sauna capital of the world’, found in the south. There, they’ll be given the full tourist experience – from outdoor adventures and sightseeing tours to unique culinary experiences. And before flying home, each group will be invited to a blind dinner date, where the eight international travellers will be joined by two local Finnish hotties. With two groups taking part, that’s four chances to meet the love of your life… The four day trip will conclude with two group blind dinner dates (Picture: Getty Images) There are roughly 2.7 million single people living in Finland right now. You never know, your forever person could be among them. According to the tourism board, the singles trip was inspired a viral social media trend that took the country by storm earlier this year. Back in July, Prisma (one of Finland’s largest supermarket chains) began putting out baby pink shopping baskets specifically for single people to use. Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. ‘Sinkkukori’, Finnish for ‘single basket’, was Prisma’s way of encouraging single shoppers to strike up conversations, safe in the knowledge that they wouldn’t be approaching someone who was already taken. Some residents embraced the idea, calling it ‘the perfect meet cute’ and a ‘genius’ idea. Others, however, were less convinced. @Nadja shared on TikTok: ‘I don’t think I’d use it even if I was looking for a relationship.’ @bethscosylife had a slightly different fear: ‘I’d pick that based just because it was cute and wonder why people were talking to me…’ A similar trend went viral in Spain back in 2024. Mercadona, Spain’s answer to Tesco, began getting extremely busy between 7pm and 8pm after a content creator on TikTok claimed singles could find romance in the supermarket aisles at that time. Anyone looking for love simply had to arrive and pop a pineapple upside down in their shopping trolley. Heli Jimenez, senior director of international marketing at Business Finland, has shared her excitement for the Finland trip. Her hope is that visitors ‘may find love’ with either each other, with Finnish food or with their new favourite travel destination. What will you get to see on the trip? One of the most interesting aspects of the trip is that the 16 singles who’re picked won’t know which destination they’re heading to (either Helsinki or Tampere) until their place is confirmed by the organisers. But, whether you’re off to the Finnish capital or the lakeland region, you’re in for a proper treat. Tampere is known for its striking architecture (Picture: Getty Images) Helsinki is an incredibly popular destination for tourists looking to explore a slightly different side of Europe. Its location right next to the Baltic Sea means it’s home to some incredible views. One of the best places to watch sunset is at Helsinki Cathedral, a perfect example of neoclassical architecture with an impressive dome 80 meters above sea level. Helsinki is also known for its amazing café culture. Much like its Scandinavian siblings Copenhagen and Oslo, it’s the perfect city to go coffee shop hopping. If you are accepted onto the trip and find yourself in the capital, your final blind date dinner will be headed up by Adele Kinnunen, head chef at Café Savoy, who has appeared on MasterChef Professionals. On the other hand, if you find yourself in Tampere, you’ll want to head straight to one of the city’s 70 iconic public saunas. While the saunas are open all year round, February is a particularly popular month. What better way to get yourself ready for love than a gentle sauna steam followed by some ice swimming. For your final dinner in Tampere, the menu will be curated by Henry Tikkanen of restaurant Gösta, who has represented Finland at the Bocuse d’Or or the ‘Olympics of gastronomy’. How do you apply? So, interested? Well, you only have 11 days left to apply! Thankfully, the process is pretty straightforward. All you have to do is film a video where you answer the question: ‘what would you serve on a dinner date, and why?’ Post your creation on Instagram, TikTok or Youtube with the hashtag #FinnishDinnerDate and tag Visit Finland. Then simply fill in the application form at FinnishDinnerDate.com with a link to your video. Applications officially close at 9.59am GMT on Tuesday November 10 2026. Once you’ve submitted your application you won’t have to wait long to find out whether or not you should be adding a new suitcase to your Christmas list. The lucky winners will be announced on December 1 on Visit Finland’s Instagram and TikTok. 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