Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, Norway to the north, and is defined by the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, and the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of 338,455 square kilometres (130,678 sq mi), with a population of 5.5 million. Helsinki is the country's capital and largest city, but together with the neighboring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, it forms a larger metropolitan area. Finnish, the native language of the Finns, is among the few Finnic languages in the world. The climate varies relative to latitude, from the southern humid continental climate to the northern boreal climate. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
Helsinki is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of 656,250. The city's urban area has a population of 1,268,296, making it by far the most populous urban area in Finland as well as the country's most important center for politics, education, finance, culture, and research; while Tampere in the Pirkanmaa region, located 179 kilometres (111 mi) to the north from Helsinki, is the second largest urban area in Finland. 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 ties with these three cities.
Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Stockholm, Helsinki and Paris. Her first solo art exhibition was in 1943. At the same time, she was writing short stories and articles for publication, as well as creating the graphics for book covers and other purposes. She continued to work as an artist and a writer for the rest of her life.
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was a general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century with the most attendees to that date and 62 nations participating. It also set the single-day attendance record for a world's fair, with 569,500 visitors on its third day.
The Bureau international des expositions (BIE) is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions falling under the jurisdiction of the Convention Relating to International Exhibitions.
The University of Helsinki is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available. In 2020, around 31,600 students were enrolled in the degree programs of the university spread across 11 faculties and 11 research institutes.
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen was a Finnish-American architect known for his work with art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Eero Saarinen.
Touko Valio Laaksonen, best known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a Finnish artist known for his stylized highly masculinized homoerotic art, and for his influence on late 20th-century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential creator of gay pornographic images" by cultural historian Joseph W. Slade. Over the course of four decades, he produced some 3,500 illustrations, mostly featuring men with exaggerated primary and secondary sex traits, wearing tight or partially removed clothing.
The Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Both the Palais de Chaillot, housing the Musée de l'Homme, and the Palais de Tokyo, which houses the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, were created for this exhibition that was officially sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions.
Eija-Liisa Ahtila is a contemporary visual artist and filmmaker who lives and works in Helsinki.
Helsinki-Malmi Airport is an airport in the city of Helsinki, Finland, located in the district of Malmi, 5.4 NM north north-east of the city centre. Until the opening of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in 1952, it was the main airport of Helsinki and also Finland. Used actively in general aviation and flight training for decades, flight operations were suspended with the closure of the last active runway on 14 March 2021 until 14 September 2021. Before the current suspension of operations, Malmi was still the second-busiest airport in Finland after Helsinki Airport, as measured by the number of landings.
The Presidential Palace is one of the three official residences of the President of the Republic of Finland. It is situated in Helsinki, on the north side of Esplanadi, overlooking Market Square.
Heureka is a Finnish science center in Vantaa, Finland, north of Helsinki, designed by Heikkinen – Komonen Architects. The aim of the science centre, which opened its doors to the public in 1989, is to popularize scientific information and to develop the methods used to teach science and scientific concepts. The name ‘Heureka’ refers to the Greek exclamation, presumably uttered by Archimedes, to mean “I’ve found it!”. The Science Centre Heureka features both indoor and outdoor interactive exhibitions with exhibits that enable visitors to independently test different concepts and ideas. There is also a digital planetarium with 135 seats.
The Royal Flora Ratchaphruek was an international horticultural exposition held 1 November 2006 to 31 January 2007 in the Thai city Chiang Mai of Chiang Mai Province that drew 3,781,624 visitors. Recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), it was one of the grand celebrations hosted by the Royal Thai Government in honor of King Bhumibol, the world's longest reigning monarch.
Guggenheim Helsinki Plan was an initiative to establish a Guggenheim museum in Helsinki, Finland. A proposal was introduced to the Helsinki City Council in 2011. After rejection of the initial plan in 2012, a new plan, introduced in 2013, was considered and finally rejected in 2016.
Ihme Contemporary Art Festival is a yearly festival for contemporary art produced by Pro Arte Foundation Finland. The festival includes a public work of art, a varied programme of events around the artwork, and educational art projects. Ihme Project, commissioned by the Festival, is to be realised in the public realm. A varied Festival programme ranging from artist talks to film screenings opens up the Ihme Project for discussion and debate and is free to attend. Ihme also offers an art education programme, Ihme School, with various activities. The word "ihme" means a wonder or a miracle in Finnish.
The ILIS 1936 was an international aviation exhibition held at Lindarängen airport in the Swedish capital Stockholm between 15 May 1936 and 1 June 1936. It was the first specialised exhibition recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). The exposition was held to celebrate the opening of Bromma airport, Europe's first with paved runways. Bromma was inaugurated on 23 May 1936, with the finish of an air race across Sweden that started the day before. At Bromma, some airshows took place on 24 and 25 May 1936. Visitors were transported between Lindarängen and Bromma by autogiro. The indoor and static exhibition was held at Lindarängen a flying boat facility just east of the city centre, currently used as ferry terminal. During the ILIS, visitors to Lindarängen could board a Swedish flying boat to fly over Stockholm.
Flow Festival is an urban music and arts festival in Helsinki, Finland. The music presented at Flow Festival is a varied selection of artists from indie rock to soul and jazz and from folk to contemporary club sounds – from both the Finnish and the international scene. In addition to music, Flow Festival is about urban spaces, visual arts, film screenings, talks, design as well as food and drinks. The event takes place at a defunct Suvilahti power plant and its industrial surroundings in downtown Helsinki's immediate vicinity.
Inuk Silis Høegh is a Greenlandic artist and filmmaker. The son of artist Aka Høegh and photographer and film artist Ivars Silis, he grew up in an artistic environment, and his sister is Bolatta Silis Høegh, also an artist.
Tubecon is a community-driven international YouTube event that gathers YouTube creators and their audiences in arena-sized public events. The first Tubecon took place in August 2014 in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki with over 5,000 visitors. Since then Tubecon has been organized 25 times in 4 different countries so far with altogether over 120,000 visitors in all the events.
