NEWS Finland looks ahead to centennial year with major events and social programmes
24 May 2016 By Tim Smith
Finland is fast approaching its centennial year in 2017, when it will celebrate its 100th anniversary of independence. Sport Finland is using the opportunity to create year-round festivities around sport events.
The sporting celebrations are spearheaded by two major winter sport world championships – the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 in Lahti and ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2017 in Helsinki – and also include the ‘Dream Sports Year’, a social programme around sports participation.
The list of events being held in 2017 also includes Finland being one of four nations hosting EuroBasket, along with the AGG World Championships in Aesthetic Group Gymnastics, junior events in speed skating and orienteering, and additional events in bowling, golf and sailing.
Just this weekend, Helsinki added another event to the list, having been awarded the Women’s Match Racing World Championship in 2017, to be held at the NJK Sailing Centre. Meanwhile, the city of Tampere is in the bidding phase for the 2017 UWW World Junior Wrestling Championships.
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Sport Finland supports major event bids The celebratory year across Finland will have a varied programme, which has been organised through a separate committee ‘Finland 100 Years,’ established in the prime minister’s office.
Sport Finland, Finland’s centralized sports events unit working under the Finnish Olympic Committee, has played a key part in the plans from the sporting perspective. As well as 100 years of independence, 2017 will mark 65 years since Helsinki hosted the 1952 Olympic Games, and 110 years of the Finnish Olympic Committee.
One of the objectives of Sport Finland is to attract major events to the country, bringing together city and sport partners to support event bids that make economic, sporting and social sense to the nation.
Kati Mälkki, special advisor to Sport Finland, told Sportcal: “Our main city partners are Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Lahti, Jyväskylä, Oulu, Kuopio, and Rovaniemi. Also the Sports Division of Ministry of Education and Culture works in close collaboration with Sport Finland.
“We coordinate and consult [with] cities and sport federations, especially in the bidding phase. The purpose is not to have events overlapping each other and cities competing with each other, but supporting each other. In addition, we take part in national and international event bidding processes, and encourage to organize and bid for events in general. Our network is wide and strong, and we share information and best practices with each other so that everyone can learn from each other.”
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City partners
Sport Finland has developed a ‘sport event profile’ for each of its city partners, focusing on each city’s strengths and characteristics. Mälkki uses Lahti as an example of a city that “is actively seeking opportunities to bid for and host fascinating events suitable to Lahti region.”
Lahti, located 90 kilometres to the north of Helsinki, is a focal point for skiing disciplines, and will host the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 2017 for the seventh time.
Meanwhile, Turku, on the south-west tip of Finland, is famed for hosting sailing events and will stage the international Tall Ships Race in 2017. Helsinki, the nation’s capital, hosted the Olympic Games in 1952 and is a regular sports host, currently sitting in 17th place in Sportcal’s Global Sports Cities Index. Helsinki will celebrate 2017 with a calendar of 100 sports events, ranging from international elite sport events, to events that “make people move”. The city told Sportcal: “The 100 events include annual events organised by the Sport Department that range from outdoor activities like fishing to happenings for multicultural families and seniors. Annual events organised by partners include, for example, Helsinki City Marathon, Helsinki International Horse Show and Helsinki Cup for young football players.”
Tampere is using events in 2017 to create a sports legacy. The IOF Junior World Orienteering Championships will use 42 kilometres of new trails through forested areas that will be used by clubs, schools and other users once opened.
Parttu Pesä, director of major events for the city, told Sportcal: “At the same time, we’ll also put together one of the largest Finnish orienteering competitions, FIM5, with more than 5,000 participants, because it's good to have the whole orienteering family together. The sport itself is huge in Tampere. You know... two thirds of Finland’s land area is forest, so it’s good to have those skills to survive.
“We are also bidding for the UWW Junior World Wrestling Championships and I hope that will be the second major international competition here [in 2017].”
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Tampere has also recently been successful in its bid to host the IAAF U20 World Championships 2018.
Quarter of a million spectators expected for Nordic World Ski Championships
Measured by total attendance, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 in Lahti is set to be one of the largest events in Finland next year, with around 250,000 spectators expected over the two weeks of competition.
Laura Lehtonen, communications manager for Lahti 2017, told Sportcal: “The overall theme for the event is ‘centenary championships’. We plan to take on the best traditions and also bring in new and surprising factors.
“The centenary championships will be about more than just sports. They will be an attractive event that combines the unique characteristics of a world championships with entertainment, leisure and travel experiences.”
The ISU World Figure Skating Championships is another international event where Finland is a repeat host in 2017, with Helsinki set to host the competition for a fourth time.
The organising committee is expecting around 65,000 spectators to visit Hartwall Arena over the five-day event.
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The same arena will host matches of Eurobasket 2017. Helsinki was announced as a joint host in December 2015 alongside Istanbul (Turkey), Tel Aviv (Israel) and Cluj (Romania), after the original host Ukraine withdrew because of the political situation in the country.
Helsinki will also host the AGG World Championships in Aesthetic Group Gymnastics. In addition to the elite event, the Finnish Gymnastics Federation will host a national gala competition for girls in the 10-12 age category, with 1,000 participants expected, and “open gymnastics experiments” for all ages of spectator.
Susanna Porola, technical director of the competition, told Sportcal: “The roots of AGG is in women’s gymnastics, which has long tradition in Finland’s history. Nowadays, AGG is one of the most popular sports among young girls and women in Finland and we have successful history in World Championships.”
Similarly, the Finnish Speed Skating association is collaborating with the Finnish Figure Skating Association to build a schedule of side events related to ice skating, around the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships and ISU World Figure Skating Championships. Tuula Puputti, general secretary of the Finnish Speed Skating Association said: “During the weekend [of the ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships] we hope to reach out for youth and families in the area and invite them to try the skating sports in side. To celebrate the 100 independent years in sports, we also do other skating events around the country together with the Finnish Figure Skating Association to create fun and easy ways to move with skates.”
‘Dream Sport Year’ to underpin social sports in 2017
The ‘Dream Sport Year’ designed by Sport Finland, is a continuation of the ‘Dream Sport Day’ that was held across the country for the first time on 10 May 2016.
Mälkki explained: “On the ‘Dream Sport Day’ Finns organized different sport and physical activity events, like a ‘pop-up day’ for sports. In 2017, the day is also the start of a bigger dream. It continues in September as a ‘Dream Sport Month’ and culminates in ‘Dream Sport Year’ in 2017, when Finland celebrates 100 years of independence under the theme of ‘Together’. During this year, every day is a dream day of sports (365 days), and every day is a pop-up day for sports.”
Tying together social sport and education, Sport Finland impressed last year’s Smart Cities & Sport Summit community when it presented its “Muuvit” platform. The platform is a creative educational tool that inspires children to take part in recreational sport and activity as part of learning.
As part of the tool, users engage in activities to collect ‘points’ which open up new areas of the learning experience. Muuvit has now involved the participation of nearly 3 million children worldwide, as well as in Finland, including those from Germany, Switzerland, Uruguay, Brazil, USA, Ukraine and Poland.
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Finland in top five of Global Sports Nations Index, relative to population In recognition of consistently hosting major sporting events, Finland has occupied positions around the top 25 of the Sportcal Global Sports Nations Index, since its launch in 2012.
In the most recent Index (published November 2015), Finland placed 24th, having dropped one place since the November 2014 edition.
When each nation’s performance in the Index is analysed in in relation to each nation’s population, then Finland places fourth, behind only Qatar, Denmark and Norway.
With the next Index to be calculated in November 2016, Finland is expected to improve on its total GSI points compared to the last edition, because of the number of world championships being held in 2017.
Future events up to the year of 2023 will also contribute to this year’s Index calculations. Events that qualify to be considered for the Index that Finland is also slated to host comprise ice hockey’s IIHF World Women's Championship in 2019, and floorball’s IFF Men’s World Championships in 2020.
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www.sportcal.com | E: [email protected] | T: +44 (0) 20 8944 8786