One of Helsinki’s most beloved May Day traditions is the capping of the Havis Amanda statue. Due to the restoration of the statue and the surrounding square, the ceremony will be held at Kansalaistori Square instead. This year, the event is organised by the University of the Arts Student Union.
Students have created an installation for the capping ceremony at Kansalaistori to be revealed on May Day Eve. The ceremony will draw inspiration from Havis Amanda’s century-old history. The performers are performance art, music and visual arts students from the University of the Arts.
The programme produced by the art students will begin at 16:30 on May Day Eve, 30 April, with the Reborn ensemble's intense and atmospheric play-like opera. After that, the audience will be entertained with the folk-inspired band Kvarty Five x Leo Harald accompanied by a video piece, followed by uplifting pop music from the Flok acapella group. The audience will be taken into the realms of dance and May Day euphoria by artful music and performance artists in the style of Glitch DJ.
The atmosphere will climax with the capping of the art students' creation with the assistance of cranes at 18:00. The original Havis Amanda herself will also make an appearance at the event, as a capping ceremony of the real statue, located elsewhere, will be screened during the ceremony.
After the capping ceremony, entertainment will be provided by the main performer of the May Day Eve, the pop-rock band Tiikerin vuosi, who will also premiere a song composed for Havis Amanda.
Programme at Kansalaistori
16:30 – Reborn
16:50 – Kvarty Five x Leo Harald
17:20 – Flok
17:40 – Glitch
18:00 – The capping of an art piece created by University of the Arts students and the real Havis Amanda's visit on Musiikkitalo's giant screen
18:00–18:30 – Main performer: Tiikerin vuosi
The event will be broadcast live on Helsinki-kanava from 16:30 onwards.
Helsinki-kanava(Link leads to external service)
Traffic restrictions around Kansalaistori and Esplanadi on May Day
Mannerheimintie will be closed to motor vehicles between Arkadiankatu and Runeberginkatu at 16:00–20:00 on 30 April due to the capping ceremony at Kansalaistori.
The two Esplanadi streets will be turned into living streets between Mannerheimintie and Unioninkatu from 15:00 onwards on May Day Eve, 30 April. The arrangements will remain in place until 20:00 on May Day, 1 May.
Parking will be prohibited on Tehtaankatu between 30 April and 1 May to ensure the smooth flow of tram traffic. The ban applies to the entire Tehtaankatu and will be enforced with relocation notices.
Additional toilets and bins provided to ensure the city's cleanliness
The City will provide event bins, skips and metal barrels for smouldering BBQ waste for May Day celebrators in the city centre and Kaivopuisto park. In Kaivopuisto, celebrators can once again sort waste into plastic, glass, cardboard and organic waste collection bins at three locations. A total of 193 portable toilets and 53 urinals have been reserved for the city-centre parks.
The City of Helsinki will organise its traditional collection of sparkling wine bottles in Kaivopuisto. If you deposit 20 of these bottles at the collection points, you will get a movie ticket. A total of 1,300 tickets will be handed out. Heavy sparkling wine bottles will be taken to Palautuspakkaus Oy to be recycled into raw material for glass wool.
Youth work offers support on May Day
On the eve and night of May Day, youth assistance operators will encounter young people in the centre of Helsinki and areas favoured by them. Around 150 professionals and volunteers will assist young people by talking, providing first aid and, if necessary, directing individuals to hospital care. The youth services and partners ask that parents talk to their teenagers about where, how and with whom they intend to spend their May Day. The police and paramedics will also offer help to young people and, where required, will call the parents from an unknown number. Calls from such numbers should be answered on May Day, in particular.
Cultural centres celebrate a family May Day
Annantalo will host the popular AnnanHouse disco on Tuesday, 30 April, from 16:00 onwards. During the topsy turvy themed disco night, you can also take a break from the dancing to participate in various workshops and meet Clown Kukkuluuruu.
The Cultural Centre Stoa's May Day discos on Tuesday, 30 April, will have something for everyone: at 15:00 starts a disco for those aged 60 and above with music by DJ Lord Fatty, and the Skidit disco will kick off at 18:00, featuring DJ Hermanni and the Robo mascot.
Stoa's May Day Eve programme also includes activities for the whole family in the form of workshops. A May Day pre-party will be held at Malmitalo on Saturday, 27 April, with music provided by the Ladies First Big Band.
The Linnanmäki amusement park will open its doors on May Day Eve, 30 April, at 12:30. The amusement park will celebrate Children's May Day, offering a variety of activities tailored for kids. For example, Rolle the Clown and friends will place a cap on the head of Linnanmäki's bear statue at 18:00.
The May Day celebrations on Wednesday will bring city residents together in parks such as Kaivopuisto and Kaisaniemenpuisto. Various May Day events, including concerts, May Day marches and lunches, will be organised throughout the city.
In the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra's May Day Matinee, musical boundaries are transformed into May Day pompoms as Marzi Nyman wraps his melodies around the capital's finest May Day tradition The May Day Matinee at Musiikkitalo on Wednesday, 1 May, at 12:00 and 14:00.
More May Day events can be found in the event calendar attapahtumat.hel.fi. (Link leads to external service)
Rescue Department's emergency medical services to operate on bicycles and quad bikes
On May Day Eve, the Rescue Department's emergency medical personnel will be moving around the city centre in not just ambulances but also on bicycles and quad bikes. Using bicycles, paramedics can reach people in need of emergency medical care more effectively in large crowds than with a car. Their bicycles are equipped almost the same way as ambulances. In an emergency, always call the emergency number 112.
The Rescue Department will host a 24-hour live event on its social media channels, @stadinbrankkari. The live event will begin at 9:00 on 30 April and end at 9:00 on 1 May. During the day, you can see the opening of the Suomenlinna station and hear May Day greetings from different rescue stations. The feed will also include routine communications on accidents and civil protection tasks. The aim is to familiarise the city's residents with the Rescue Department's operations.