Finland offers free all-expenses paid trips to 16 singles in search of love

• Participants will explore Finland’s culinary traditions, sample regional delicacies, and attend special group dinner dates with local Finnish singles in Helsinki and Tampere, in the Lakeland region.

Finland, often ranked as the world’s happiest country, is inviting singles from across the globe to participate in an all-expenses-paid blind dating experience in February 2027.

The “Finnish Dinner Date” campaign has been launched by the country’s tourism board, Visit Finland. It aims to introduce international travellers to its food culture while offering them an opportunity to connect with potential romantic partners.

According to Forbes, the campaign will select 16 single adults for a hosted trip scheduled between February 9 and 19, 2027.

Participants will explore Finland’s culinary traditions, sample regional delicacies, and attend special group dinner dates with local Finnish singles in Helsinki and Tampere, in the Lakeland region.

The menus will feature traditional Finnish ingredients and dishes, including wild fish, berries and foraged mushrooms.

The meals will be developed by some of the country’s leading chefs, highlighting the connection between Finnish cuisine, nature, and seasonal produce.

“Finnish food is a direct expression of our famously happy way of life: a way of connecting to place, to season, and to the people around you,” Heli Jimenez, Senior Director of International Marketing at Business Finland, said in a statement.

“Food brings Finns together, and now we are inviting travellers to join us in a truly one-of-a-kind way,” she added.

The campaign draws inspiration from sinkkukori, a Finnish dating trend in which pink shopping baskets are used in some supermarkets to signal that a customer is single and open to conversations, potentially leading to a romantic connection.

The tourism board also aims to introduce international visitors to Finnish cuisine, which it believes remains relatively overlooked compared with other European and global food traditions.

“From sauna food traditions to foraging, Finnish cuisine tells a story that exists nowhere else. We want visitors to experience that story in full,” Jimenez said.

The initiative combines food tourism with opportunities for social interaction.

According to the official statement, the dinner dates will be relaxed group events, with participants dining together and sampling one of Finland’s official tasting menus.

Single adults aged 18 and above from anywhere in the world can apply, provided they are not residents of Finland.

Applications must be submitted individually.

To apply, candidates must record a short video in English answering the question: “What would you serve on a dinner date, and why?” They must then post the video on a public social media account, such as Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, using the hashtag #FinnishDinnerDate and tagging Visit Finland.

The application deadline is 11.59 am Finnish time on November 10. The selected participants will be announced on December 1 through Visit Finland’s Instagram and TikTok accounts.

The tourism board will cover the selected participants’ flights, accommodation, meals, and activities for the trip, making the experience fully hosted.