Helsingin Sanomat's Rhetoric Contest will be held this year at Aalto University's Marsio building on its Stage. The event will be held in Finnish.

On Thursday evening, April 3, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, regional and municipal election candidates will compete in rhetoric, or the art of speaking, on stage. The tasks are not so much about political content but specifically about convincing the audience, charismatic performance, and engagement. A skilled speaker can charm voters and sway political opponents to support their cause.

The event will be broadcast live on HS.fi, and it can also be followed live on-site. The Marsio Stage venue can accommodate 120 members of live audience. Helsingin Sanomat organises the Rhetoric Contest in collaboration with Aalto University.

The contest follows a cup format and features 16 debaters from different parliamentary parties. The pairs will be drawn randomly. The topics for the debates will be revealed on-site, with a limited amount of time to prepare. The debates will tackle themes concerning students and young people, and the audience will have the opportunity to influence the results of the competition. A jury will determine the winner of each contest pair.

In the end, someone will win the entire contest and inherit the title of the best speaker from Mikko Kärnä, who won the previous HS Rhetoric Contest.

Competitors include candidates from political parties from Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa: Gashaw Bibani (Left Alliance), Dan Cederlöf (Swedish People's Party), Karin Cederlöf (Swedish People's Party), Saara Hyrkkö (Greens), Iina Ilmarinen (Movement Now), Arja Juvonen (Finns Party), Jouko Jääskeläinen (Christian Democrats), Natalia Kallio (Left Alliance), Ulla Kaukola (Social Democrats), Sini Korpinen (National Coalition Party), Eeva Kärkkäinen (Centre Party), Lauri Muranen (Social Democrats), Mika Raatikainen (Finns Party), Petri Roininen (Centre Party), Tere Sammallahti (National Coalition Party), and Akseli Tiitta (Greens).

The event will be hosted by HS journalists Emil Elo and Milla Palkoaho. Judges include journalist-author Teemu Luukka and media personality Tuija Siltamäki.