Nightwish announces home town show to Kitee next summer

One of the most successful Finnish bands of all time, Nightwish, will perform in their hometown Kitee in June 2023. Human. :II: Nature. -world tour concert will happen on Friday, June 16, 2023 at renovated baseball stadium of Kitee. The concert is organized by Kiteen Pallo, the city of Kitee and the event production company Nordic Live Productions.

Nightwish has previously also announced another concert in Finland, which will take place on Saturday 17 June 2023 at Vaasa’s Lemonsoft Stadium. Kitee and Vaasa’s performances are Nightwish‘s last domestic concerts before the band takes a break to work on a new album. Nightwish‘s Kitee’s concert will be one of the biggest single events in eastern Finland during summer of 2023.

Tuomas Holopainen, founding member and leader of the Nightwish band, is excited about the upcoming concert in his hometown:

“The band let out a collective squeal of joy when we were told about the gig at Kiteen Rantakentä. It will be the last performances of the Human. :II: Nature. world tour, and for me the absolute highlight of the whole round. My hometown, its people, and people from all over the world are guaranteed to create a magical setting for the event . We’ll be waiting in our spots, see you there!”

The group’s arrival in Kitee has been awaited for two decades

The best-known songs of Nightwish, who play symphonic metal and were founded in Kitee in 1996, are e.g. “Nemo“, “Sleeping Sun“, “Storytime“, “Wish I Had An Angel“, “Amaranth” and “Noise“. In addition to the keyboardist and leader Tuomas Holopainen, singer Floor Jansen, multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, bassist Jukka Koskinen and drummer Kai Hahto will be seen on stage. Tommi Mäki, CEO of Nordic Live Productions comments:

“Nightwish’s concert in Kitee, the band’s founding city, has been awaited for two decades. We are really excited that we will be able to produce a concert at the renovated Rantakentä next summer. We thank the band for their trust, and we promise to make the June 2023 concert a memorable and unique experience. In addition to Nightwish, the concert will feature a few other bands from the beginning of the evening, which will be announced later.”

Nightwish is one of Kitee’s biggest pride

The story of the worldwide famous band Nightwish is recorded in the Kitee Tourist Information – A Nightwish Story exhibition center, which opened in the center of Kitee in 2020. The exhibition presents the band’s journey from a small band project in Kitee to one of the biggest metal bands in the world. The exhibition, which has gained worldwide fame, features rare material that can only be seen and experienced in Kitee. Kitee City Manager Pekka Hirvonen comments:

“A Nightwish Story exhibition center will be open around the clock between June 15 and 17, 2023. It’s absolutely amazing to have Nightwish, which has strong crystalline roots, perform at Rantakenttä. The renovated stadium offers an excellent setting for the event, and we, as a city, warmly welcome the concert guests.”

Baseball stadium’s visitor record is expected to be broken

The total capacity of Kiteen Rantakenttä baseball stadium is around 10,000 people for the concert. In addition to the 2,800-seat grandstand, which was renovated in 2020, almost the entire baseball field serves as an audience area. The concert is expected to be sold out, which would clearly break the stadium’s previous visitor record. The current audience record for Rantakkettä is 7,773 spectators in the 1996 East-West match. The local major baseball club Kiteen Pallo is strongly involved in the arrangements of the concert. Tommi Mäki adds:

“We expect Rantakenttä’s capacity of more than 10,000 seats to be filled quickly after ticket sales start. At the same time, it would be the biggest event in the history of the baseball stadium. In the realization of the concert, we cooperate closely with Kitee city, Kiteen Pallo and other local clubs and organizations.”

Kiteen Pallo also warmly welcomes Nightwish to Rantakenttä

Kiteen Pallo’s Mikko Varonen comments about the upcoming show:

“Nightwish is the brightest star in the music world of our region, and the event has a special meaning for Kiteen Pallo, as well as for all the club’s partners and fans. We believe that Rantakenttä’s audience record will be broken with a bang. Years of cooperation with the band members have been seamless, and the upcoming event also shows respect for our cooperation. We are very proud to be from Kitee, and we welcome all Nightwish fans to Kitee for the whole event week.”

Ticket sales for the concert will start on Friday, November 11

Ticket sales for Nightwish‘s Kitee concert will start on Friday, November 11, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. at the ticket office. There are age-restricted tickets and K18 tickets on sale for the concert. In addition, various VIP tickets are sold for the concert.

Tickets from €79.90

VIP tickets from €159.90

Tickets are sold by: Lippu.fi