Kiruna Snow Festival: Dates, Snow Sculptures and What to Expect

Every late January since 1986, Kiruna has celebrated the returning sun with a free festival built around giant snow sculptures. This guide covers the 2027 dates, how the competition works, what costs money, where to go and how cold it gets.

When you need this

You’re planning a late-January trip to Kiruna or Swedish Lapland and want to know whether the festival is worth building the trip around. Maybe you’re traveling with children and looking for free winter fun, or you’ll arrive in February and wonder whether the sculptures are still standing. This page answers those questions from the organizer’s own pages and the competition rules.

Dates: the finale is Saturday 30 January

The organizer, the destination organization Kiruna Lappland, doesn’t give one consistent date range for 2027. Its event listing and program page say 27–31 January 2027, while its main festival page says 27–30 January. The part that matters is the same in both: the snow-sculpture competition ends at noon on Saturday 30 January, and the organizer puts the festival finale on the Saturday.

Don’t plan around “the last weekend of January”, even though the organizer still uses the phrase. The 2026 festival ran 21–25 January, and its awards were on Saturday 24 January, a week before the month’s last weekend. Use each year’s published dates.

The full 2027 program is due around the end of 2026. Book your travel and a bed first, then pick events once the program is out.

The snow-sculpture competition

The Kiruna International Snow Sculpture Competition is the festival’s main attraction. Six to eight teams from around the world compete, each with two sculptors and a 3 × 3 × 3 m block of snow. Its rules are strict:

• Materials: only snow, water and ice; no colorants, no supports or frames.
• Tools: hand tools only; power tools are banned.
• People: only the two registered team members may carve.
• Place: everything happens on Stadshustorget, the square in front of the city hall.

Two prizes are awarded: a jury prize, and a People’s Choice prize decided by ballots from the public. In 2026 voting closed at 12:15 on the Saturday, with the awards at 12:30. If you can, come back to the square on several days during the week. Seeing a block turn into a sculpture over three and a half days is more interesting than seeing only the finished piece.

What else happens

Around the competition runs a free program with a strong family focus. The 2027 program isn’t out yet, but the 2026 one shows what to expect:

• Snow playground: a new one is built each year, free for all visitors.
• Children’s activities: dog sledding with the local sled-dog club, pony rides, reindeer and reindeer rides, street hockey and floorball on the square, and an ice-fishing pond.
• Sámi elements: the program can include reindeer in the town center and traditional food.
• Culture: a free art workshop at Kin, Norrbotten’s county museum for contemporary art in the city hall, plus films, poetry, a fire show and an evening concert.
• Reindeer race: in 2026, local companies raced each other on the Saturday afternoon.

Hot food and drinks were sold in the festival area in 2026. Some children’s sessions, such as the morning story times, were only for pre-registered preschool groups.

Where it is: Kiruna’s new centre

The festival is held in Kiruna’s new centre, on Stadshustorget in front of the city hall, Kristallen (“the Crystal”). Iron-ore mining forced Kiruna to give up its old centre. The first stage of the new one opened on 1 September 2022, about three kilometers east. Older guides and maps may still point you to the old center, so head for the city hall instead. For the full story of the town move, see our Kiruna guide.

The city hall’s doors are open to the public, which makes it a handy place to warm up between events on the square.

Cold and what to wear

The organizer’s page gives January an average of −20 °C. That overstates it: SMHI’s 1991–2020 normal for January at Kiruna Airport is −11.3 °C, as a 24-hour average. Nights and cold snaps go well below that, and standing still to watch sculptors work is where people get cold.

• Wear at least three layers, lined boots with wool socks, a hat and mittens.
• Check each other’s cheeks, nose and ears for white, numb patches, the first sign of frostbite.
• Warm frostbitten skin against warm skin and never rub it. Then go indoors.

Weather can also change the program. In 2026 helicopter flights could be cancelled in bad weather, and pony rides had a cold limit of −15 °C. More in cold safety in Sweden and packing for a Swedish winter.

What’s free and what isn’t

The organizer calls the festival completely free, and every venue, including the snow playground, costs nothing to visit. Some activities, such as evening concerts, may need a ticket or a small fee. Seats can also be limited when tickets are free: the 2026 Friday concert used free tickets picked up at the city-hall reception from 15 January, while they lasted.

Warning — Swish-only extras. In 2026 the paid helicopter flights took payment on site by Swish only. Swish needs a Swedish bank account and BankID, so most visitors can’t use it. Ask how to pay before you queue. See why visitors can’t use Swish.

Getting there

If you’re staying for several days, the festival combines well with other winter trips. Kiruna sees aurora on about every other clear night, according to the Swedish National Space Agency’s statistics, in a season running September to March. Icehotel 37 opens on 11 December 2026, 17 km east in Jukkasjärvi; see our Icehotel guide. The Jokkmokk winter market follows on 4–6 February 2027.

Practical information

FAQ

When is the Kiruna Snow Festival in 2027?

The organiser’s event listing and program page give 27–31 January 2027, while its main festival page says 27–30 January. The finale is on Saturday 30 January, when the snow-sculpture competition ends at noon and the prizes follow. The festival has been held in late January since 1986. The full program is due around the end of 2026.

Is the Kiruna Snow Festival free?

Yes. The organiser says the festival is completely free, and all venues, including the snow playground, cost nothing to visit. Some activities, such as evening concerts, may need a ticket or a small fee. In 2026 a concert used free tickets collected in advance at the city hall, and some paid extras took payment only by Swish.

What is the Kiruna snow sculpture competition?

It is the festival’s main attraction. Six to eight teams of two sculptors from around the world each carve a 3 × 3 × 3 metre block of snow on the city-hall square, using only hand tools and only snow, water and ice. In 2027 carving runs from Wednesday morning to Saturday noon. A jury and a public vote pick the winners.

Where is the Kiruna Snow Festival held?

On Stadshustorget, the square in front of Kiruna’s city hall, in the town’s new centre. The mine forced Kiruna to move its centre about three kilometres east; the first stage opened in 2022. Some events use the city hall, the library and the culture centre nearby. The airport is about 9 km away and the station about 6 km.

How cold is it at the Kiruna Snow Festival?

Expect real cold. SMHI’s January normal at Kiruna Airport is −11.3 °C as a 24-hour average, and nights and cold snaps go much lower. The organiser’s own figure of −20 °C overstates the average. Wear at least three layers, lined boots with wool socks, a hat and mittens, and warm up indoors regularly.

Is the Kiruna Snow Festival good for children?

Yes; the program is built around families. In 2026 children could try dog sledding, pony rides, reindeer rides, street hockey and an ice-fishing pond, play in a free snow playground on the square and join free art workshops in the city hall. Some sessions are for pre-registered groups, and outdoor activities can be cancelled in bad weather or deep cold.

Can I see the snow sculptures after the festival?

Yes. The organiser says the finished sculptures stay on the square in front of the city hall until they melt away in spring, weather permitting. A visitor in February or March can still see them, free, though wind and mild spells wear them down. The sculptors themselves are only at work during festival week, from Wednesday to Saturday noon.

Related guides

• Kiruna travel guide — the town move, the mine tour and what else to see
• Sweden in January — the month around the festival, including daylight and holidays
• Northern lights in Sweden — your evenings in Kiruna during festival week
• Dog sledding in Swedish Lapland — when the festival taster isn’t enough
• Cold risks: hypothermia and frostbite — first aid before a day on the square

Facts verified 2026-10-15. Sources: Kiruna Lappland (the organizer), the Kiruna International Snow Sculpture Competition, Kiruna kommun, SMHI, Swedavia, 1177, SVT — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.