Finnish independence to be celebrated by 6,500 Helsinkian fourth graders at the Mayor’s Independence Day celebration

The Mayor's Independence Day celebration has a long history in Helsinki stretching back to 1997, which is when the City of Helsinki organised the first celebration at Finlandia Hall. This year, the City will be holding two celebrations with the same programme at Messukeskus, one in the morning and another in the afternoon.

The celebrations are expected to be attended by a total of 6,500 schoolchildren. The children will be supervised at the celebrations by their teachers, of whom over 550 will be attending this year. The City has reserved nearly 80 buses and a handful of taxis to make sure that the pupils get safely to the venue and back to their schools afterwards.

For Mayor Juhana Vartiainen, hosting the celebrations has been a very pleasant task.

“These celebrations have been some of the most fun and also important events of my time as mayor. In addition to celebrating our country’s independence, they are a notable unifying experience for schoolchildren in Helsinki, which is another reason why they have become such an important tradition to uphold,” Vartiainen says.

Like in previous years, participants will be delighted with refreshments and a programme including a concert by a surprise artist. The featured artist will remain a secret until the start of the concert.

The schoolchildren will be greeted at the celebration by Mayor Juhana Vartiainen, Deputy Mayor Johanna Laisaari and Head of the Education Division Satu Järvenkallas. While waiting in the greeting queue, participants will be entertained by a group from Circus Helsinki, while the entrance music will be provided by the Helsinki Police Symphonic Band. 

“I believe that the Helsinki Police Symphonic Band played at the very first Mayor's Independence Day celebration, so it was high time for us to make a second appearance,” says Principal Conductor Sami Ruusuvuori.

The band will be playing music fitting the occasion from the likes of Jean Sibelius, Leevi Madetoja, Oskar Merikanto and Anssi Tikanmäki. 

“I'm sure that it is going to be a really great party. I've had the honour of playing at the Independence Day Reception at the Presidential Palace a few times and it has always been a blast, but I have a feeling that this celebration is going to be an even bigger blast,” says Deputy Conductor Heikki Elo.

The celebration will also include a speech by the Mayor and thank you speeches by the children in both Finnish and Swedish. The children's thank-you speech in the morning celebration will also be delivered in North Sami. The programme will be interpreted into Finnish and Finland-Swedish Sign Languages. The celebration will be hosted by Anna Norros and Paul Uotila. 

The celebrations will culminate in a dance. The range of dance styles will once again include the old classics: Cicapo, Jingle Bells, Jiffy Mixer, Rock, Letkajenkka and Happy. The schoolchildren have been practising the dances throughout the autumn.

We got to go along to the dance practice of the pupils of Botby Comprehensive School. They had no trouble naming their favourite dance.

“Letkajenkka!” shouted several of the fourth graders almost immediately when asked. 
 

Watch the celebration on Helsinki-kanava  
 

Due to the large number of participants, it is not possible to invite guardians to attend the celebrations. However, they can stream the celebrations live on the Helsinki-kanava channel. Both celebrations will be streamed. Links to the streams can be found at the end of this article. Recordings of the streams will also be made available on the channel for later viewing. Many schools also organise a dance performance for guardians on the day of the celebration.
This year, the live streams will also feature commentary by Joonas Snellman, in addition to which participants will be interviewed at Messukeskus by Rebecca Kurten.

In addition to Helsinki-kanava, you can follow the festivities on the City of Helsinki’s Instagram and Facebook pages.

The dress code is come as you are  
 

Many homes are wondering what the appropriate dress code is for the celebrations. The City of Helsinki and Mayor Vartiainen encourage everyone to participate in the celebrations without too much pressure. Participants can dress up or down as they see fit – according to their own style, taste and opportunities. You can also borrow an outfit or look for a second-hand one.
The City of Helsinki has been organising Independence Day celebrations for Helsinki fourth graders at Finlandia Hall since 1997. The celebrations, which bring together the entire age group of 10-year-olds, are hosted by the Mayor of Helsinki. The overall planning and production of the event is handled by the Helsinki Events Foundation.