Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country located in Northern Europe. Finland shares land borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north and is defined by the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south that are part of the Baltic Sea.
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. It is part of the Finnish Capital Region, along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Most of its population lives in the inner urban core of the Helsinki metropolitan area. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen. Other bordering municipalities of Espoo are Nurmijärvi and Vihti in the north, and Kirkkonummi in the west. The city is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, in the region of Uusimaa, and has a population of 291,439.
Turku is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi) and the former Turku and Pori Province. The region was originally called Suomi (Finland), which later became the name for the whole country. As of 30 September 2018, the population of Turku was 191,499 making it the sixth largest city in Finland after Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu. There were 330,192 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, ranking it as the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify Swedish as a mother-tongue.
The Swedish People's Party of Finland is a liberal-centrist political party in Finland aiming to represent the interests of the minority Swedish-speaking population of Finland. An ethnic catch-all party, the party's main election issue has been since its inception the Swedish-speaking Finns' right to their own language and to maintain the Swedish language's position in Finland. The party was in governmental position 1979–2015 with one or two seats in the government and collaborated with the centre-right as well as the centre-left in the Parliament of Finland. After the 2015 election SFP was left out of the government formed by the three largest parties. In 2019, SFP had two seats in the government, the Minister of Justice and the Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality.
Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. There are 21 municipalities in Lapland region. Lapland borders the region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Troms and Finnmark County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast and the Republic of Karelia in Russia. Topography varies from vast mires and forests of the South to fells in the North. The Arctic circle crosses Lapland, so polar phenomena such as the Midnight Sun and Polar night can be seen in Lapland.
Viasat is a satellite and pay television brand, co-owned by the Swedish media group Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) in the Nordic countries, Sony Pictures Television in Hungary, and by Viasat World internationally. Founded in Sweden in 1991, Viasat has previously been owned by Modern Times Group. The channels of both companies are broadcast from London.
Ingå is a municipality of Finland.
Kaarina is a small town and municipality of Finland.
Karjalohja, or Karislojo in Swedish, is a former municipality of Finland.
Karkkila is a town and a municipality of Finland.
Lapinjärvi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of 2,633 (31 July 2020) and covers an area of 339.31 square kilometres (131.01 sq mi) of which 9.44 km2 (3.64 sq mi) is water. The population density is 7.98 inhabitants per square kilometre (20.7/sq mi).
Tuusula is a municipality of Finland. It belongs to the Helsinki sub-region of the Uusimaa region. The municipality has a population of 38,779 (31 July 2020) and is by far the third largest municipality in Finland after Nurmijärvi and Kirkkonummi that doesn't use the town or city title by itself.
The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, was the 13th Olympic Championship. The Soviet Union won its fifth gold medal. Games were held at the Olympiahalle Innsbruck.
The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was the 16th Olympic Championship. The Soviet Union won its seventh gold medal. The silver medal was won by Finland, marking its first ever Olympic ice hockey medal. Sweden won the bronze medal. Games were held in the Olympic Saddledome, the Stampede Corral, and Father David Bauer Olympic Arena. This is so far the only Olympic tournament held on North American soil that was not won by either Canada or United States.
The Future of Åland is a separatist political party on the Åland Islands. The goal of the party is to make Åland an independent state. At the 2003 elections, the party won 6.5% of popular votes and 2 out of 30 seats. In the 21 October 2007 parliamentary elections, the party won 8.1% of the popular vote and 2 out of 30 seats. In the 2011 elections, the party won 9.7% of the vote and 3 out of 30 seats. In the 2015 elections, the party won 7.4% and 2 seats. In the 2019 elections the party won only one of the 30 seats.
The 4 Nations Cup is an annual women's ice hockey tournament, held between four major national teams in the sport; currently, these are Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland. Until 2000, when Sweden joined, the tournament was the 3 Nations Cup. In general, it is held in or around November each year.
The 2008 Le Gruyère European Curling Championships were held at Swedbank Arena in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden December 6–13, 2008. In a rematch of the men's A-Group final from the 2007 European Curling Championships, David Murdoch led Scotland to a second straight gold medal over Norway's Thomas Ulsrud 7–6 in an extra end. On the women's side, Switzerland's Mirjam Ott defeated home-country favorite Anette Norberg of Sweden 5–4.
Immigration to Europe has a long history, but increased substantially in the later 20th century. Western Europe countries, especially, saw high growth in immigration after World War II and many European nations today have sizeable immigrant populations, both of European and non-European origin. In contemporary globalization, migrations to Europe have accelerated in speed and scale. Over the last decades, there has been an increase in negative attitudes towards immigration, and many studies have emphasized marked differences in the strength of anti-immigrant attitudes among European countries.
Jakomäki is a quarter, part of Suurmetsä neighbourhood in Helsinki, Finland. It has an area of 1,92 km2 and a population of 5,481 (2005).
The 2001 European Curling Championships were held in Vierumäki, Finland, on December 8–15.
