Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari was a Finnish politician, the 10th president of Finland, from 1994 to 2000, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and a United Nations diplomat and mediator noted for his international peace work.
Pori is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some 10 kilometres (6 mi) from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, 110 kilometres (68 mi) west of Tampere, 140 kilometres (87 mi) north of Turku and 241 kilometres (150 mi) north-west of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Pori was established in 1558 by Duke John, who later became King John III of Sweden.
Porin Ässät, officially named Hockey Club Ässät Pori and colloquially known as Pata, is a professional ice hockey club based in Pori, Finland. It competes in the SM-liiga, the highest-ranking league of ice hockey in Finland. Since 1971, Ässät has played its games in the Isomäki Ice Hall.
Helsinki Halli is a large multi-functional indoor arena located in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened in April 1997. The arena is convertible for various events. The total seated capacity during ice hockey games is 13,349 and as an amphitheatre, it is significantly reduced to between 3,000 to 5,000.
Olli Ilmari Rehn is a Finnish economist and public official who has been serving as governor of the Bank of Finland since 2018. A member of the Centre Party, he previously served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement from 2004 to 2010, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro from 2010 to 2014, and Minister of Economic Affairs in Juha Sipilä's cabinet from 2015 until 2016. Rehn is running for President of Finland in 2024.
Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015. He rose to politics as a researcher specialized in the affairs of the European Union and was elected to the European Parliament in 2004 as a member of the National Coalition Party. In 2008, Stubb was appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs following a scandal surrounding his predecessor, Ilkka Kanerva. In 2011 Stubb stood for election to the Finnish Parliament for the first time and was elected MP with the second highest vote count in the election, which led to Stubb becoming the Minister for Europe and Foreign Trade in Jyrki Katainen's cabinet.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Finland are among the most advanced in Europe. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity have been legal in Finland since 1971 with "promotion" thereof decriminalized and the age of consent equalized in 1999. Homosexuality was declassified as an illness in 1981. Discrimination based on sexual orientation in areas such as employment, the provision of goods and services, etc., was criminalized in 1995 and discrimination based on gender identity in 2005. In 2020, Finland implemented severe restrictions on transgender people from accessing gender-affirming healthcare.
Timo Juhani Soini is a Finnish politician who is the co-founder and former leader of the Finns Party. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Finland from 2015 to 2017 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2019.
The Bolt Arena is a football stadium in Helsinki, Finland. It is named after the labour hire company Bolt.Works.
Mestis is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona.
The Miss Suomi is a national beauty pageant in Finland. The pageant was founded in 1931, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe.
Finland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Addicted to You" written by Maki Kolehmainen, Janina Frostell and Tracy Lipp. The song was performed by Laura. The Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle) returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their relegation from 2001 as one of the bottom six countries in the 2000 contest. Yle organised the national final Euroviisut 2002 in order to select the Finnish entry for the 2002 contest in Tallinn, Estonia. Twelve entries were selected to compete in the national final on 26 January 2002 where votes from six regional juries first selected the top six to advance to a second round. In the second round, votes from the public selected "Addicted to You" performed by Laura as the winner with 70,580 votes.
Presidential elections were held in Finland in January and February 2012. The first round took place on 22 January 2012 with advance voting between 11 and 17 January. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 5 February, with advance voting between 25 and 31 January. Sauli Niinistö was elected the President of Finland for a term from 1 March 2012 until 1 March 2018.
Ismo Mikael Leikola, sometimes known professionally as ISMO, is a Finnish stand-up comedian, musician, author, screenwriter, and YouTuber. Leikola made his United States debut in 2014, when he was awarded the title of "The Funniest Person in the World" in a contest organized by the comedy club Laugh Factory. In 2015, he made comedy series ISMO for Finnish television and moved to the United States. He became an internationally known stand-up comedian after his performance on the Conan talk show in 2018 and has since toured internationally.
Presidential elections were held in Finland on 28 January 2018. The incumbent Sauli Niinistö received 62.7% of the vote and was elected for a second term, avoiding a second round. The term is from 1 March 2018 to 1 February 2024 (if 2024 presidential election doesn't go to a second ballot) or 1 March 2024. Although the President is elected by direct election, Niinistö gained a plurality in all municipalities and a majority in all but 13 municipalities.
Atlas Saarikoski is a Finnish social activist, journalist and anarchist.
Hitchball 4000 is the biggest hitchhiking race in the Nordic countries, organized during the first weekend of June. It is a weekend-long race where teams of two people hitchhike away from Helsinki and back. Each team is equipped with a GPS tracker, which enables their progress to be followed in real-time on the competition's website. The winner of the main competition is the team that hitchhikes the longest distance and gets the furthest possible during the weekend, but also gets back to the starting point before the following Monday morning. The Spirit of Hitchball award is given to the team that has done the best promotion of hitchhiking through their attitude and their storytelling in social media.
Isomäen jäähalli, also known as Enersense Areena for sponsorship reasons is a multi-purpose arena located in Pori, Finland. The arena is used by ice hockey club Porin Ässät. The arena was opened in 1971 and the capacity for hockey games is 6 150 and for concerts 4 000.
Laura Huhtasaari is a Finnish politician and teacher. As a member of the Finns Party, she has represented Satakunta in the Parliament of Finland from April 2015 to July 2019. She was the Finns Party candidate for the 2018 Finnish presidential election. In 2019 Huhtasaari was elected to the European Parliament with 92,760 votes
Componenta is a contract manufacturer of cast and machined metal components, located in Finland. Its customers are typically global manufacturers of vehicles, machines and equipment. Componenta is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
