Helsinki is the capital, largest and most populous city in Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the Uusimaa region in southern Finland and has a population of 672,036. The city's urban area has a population of 1,268,296, making it by far the most populous urban area in Finland and the country's most important centre for politics, education, finance, culture and research. Helsinki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 km (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical links with these three cities.
The music of Finland can be roughly divided into folk music, classical and contemporary art music, and contemporary popular music.
Lordi is a Finnish hard rock and heavy metal band. Formed in 1992 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume maker Mr Lordi, Lordi are known for wearing monster masks and using horror elements with pyrotechnics during concerts and music videos. The band rose to fame in 2002 with their hit single "Would You Love a Monsterman?", and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with their song "Hard Rock Hallelujah".
The Red Guards were the paramilitary units of the labour movement in Finland during the early 1900s. The Red Guards formed the army of Red Finland and were one of the main belligerents of the Finnish Civil War in 1918.
Arno Rafael Minkkinen is a Finnish-American photographer who works in the United States.
Amoral was a Finnish heavy metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1997. They played technical, progressive, melodic, hard rock-oriented metal. The band's fourth album was an about-turn, replacing the dominance of quirky death metal with an exemplary display of riff-driven, heavy, yet melodic power groove and the occasional sing-along chorus. Amoral performed extensively in bars, clubs, festivals and other venues in Finland, Europe, Japan, China, Philippines and the US. The band split up in 2017 after 20 years together.
"Hard Rock Hallelujah" is a song by Finnish hard rock band Lordi. It was released as a single in 2006, reaching the No. 1 spot in Finland and reaching the top 10 in eight other European countries. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at No. 25.
Michaël Borremans is a Belgian painter and filmmaker who lives and works in Ghent. His painting technique draws on 18th-century art, as well as the works of Édouard Manet and Degas. The artist also cites the Spanish court painter Diego Velázquez as an important influence. In recent years, he has been using photographs he has made himself or made-to-order sculptures as the basis for his paintings.
Aku Louhimies is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He has directed feature films, documentary films, commercials and music videos. His international breakthrough was the 2016 serial drama Rebellion. He has directed and produced the 2017 war film The Unknown Soldier which is the most expensive feature film ever made in Finland.
The Tangomarkkinat is the world's oldest tango festival. It is held early every July in Seinäjoki, Finland. As well as competitions to find the country's best tango singers, composers, and dancers, the festival features public dancing to live music provided by the best Finnish entertainers. Music for public dancing is not restricted to tango: it includes all the dance rhythms popular in Finland: but tango content must, according to the rules, be at least 40%.
Aalto University is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design Helsinki. The close collaboration between the scientific, business and arts communities is intended to foster multi-disciplinary education and research.
Misko Iho is a Finnish film director.
Petri Kuljuntausta is a Finnish composer, musician, sound artist and author of three books on electronic music and sound art. Since the 1990s he has belonged to a new generation of composers in Finland interested in experimental and electronic music.
International Comics Festival is an annual event organized and led by Belgrade’s Student Cultural Center (SKC). The Festival is the biggest comics event in Serbia, and one of the most important in the region. Each year, the Festival is being held during the last week of September.
Let the Peoples Sing is an international choral competition currently organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offered as a live broadcast to all EBU members. The Silver Rose Bowl is awarded to the best choir in the competition.
Hilde Teerlinck is a Belgian curator, and General Director of the Han Nefkens Foundation - Barcelona.
The Speakers' Corner in Singapore is an area located within Hong Lim Park at the Downtown Core district, whereby Singaporeans may demonstrate, hold exhibitions and performances, as well as being able to engage freely in political open-air public speeches, debates and discussions. It is based upon the premise of its namesake, Speakers' Corner, which was first launched at Hyde Park, London and has since been established in many other countries with a political system of representative democracy.
Finnish art started to form its individual characteristics in the 19th century, when romantic nationalism began to rise in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland.
Chaos Constructions is the oldest demoparty in Russia, previously known as ENLiGHT. Nowadays, it is considered to be annual computer art festival and IT conference.
Marina Vladimirovna Fedorova is a Russian figurative artist and painter. Marina Fedorova’s artworks were nominated for the Kandinsky Prize. Works by the artist are kept in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum and the State Russian Museum.
