The traditional New Year celebrations at Helsinki City Senate Square will launch the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 year. WDC Helsinki 2012 will bring to the evening an extensive light and video show as well as a New Year resolution in the words of a young Finnish designer.

During the evening a special feature will be when Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti will officially accept their joint hosting of the World Design Capital 2012. Hosting of the World Design Capital year will be handed over by President Soon-In Lee of Icsid, International Council of Societies of Industrial Design.

The entire event will focus on the way ahead. A special bar will be opened where people can make their own New Year resolutions and where hot chocolate will also be served. The ’resolutions bar’ will open at 22:00, and this will also indicate the commencement of the joyous celebrations in Senate Square.

The Senate Square will be lit up by the light and video show jointly produced by Mural Media and Agent Pekka. The Council of State and University buildings surrounding Senate Square will be given a new look for the entire evening. The turn of the year will culminate in a video presentation called Ylistys Helsingille (Praise to Helsinki), which uses a 3D architectural mapping technique, emblazoning Helsinki Cathedral with light. The illustrators of the installation from Agent Pekka are Antti Uotila, Eero Johannes, Janine Rewell and Santtu Mustonen.

The evening will be hosted by Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen and will, as usual, feature various musical performances. The Out’n loud choir, AiA band, Step Up Dancers, beatboxer Felix Zenger and the king of all tango kings Jari Sillanpää will be there to take the stage. The evening will be presented by Baba Lybeck and Axl Smith. Designer Antti Asplund is in charge of the performers’ costumes.

All of Finland and the rest of the world will be invited to the celebrations via YLE TV1 beginning from 22:55. Apart from this TV broadcast, the evening's events can be followed on the Internet through Yle Areena at areena.yle.fi. The Yle Areena broadcast can also be seen abroad. The direct broadcast will end with the ushering in of the New Year as well as fireworks accompanied by inspiring musical arrangements.

As part of the Senate Square New Year celebrations, a pre-celebration will be organised at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art for families with children. A light derived adventure for the whole family is to be set up in the empty exhibition halls with workshops, shadow puppets, light painting, a dance of shadows as well as a sound and light installation to be discovered along the adventure trail. Admission to this pre-celebration is free to all, and the event will be open between 13:00 and 17:00. The event will be organised by the City of Helsinki and the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art.

It is commendable to arrive to Senate Square by public transport or by foot. Senate Square is best accessible at the corner of Aleksanterinkatu and Unioninkatu streets as well as at the corner of Aleksanterinkatu and Snellmaninkatu streets.

Lux Helsinki brings light to the darkest time of the year. The event presents brilliant light installations that transform famous sights and the urban landscape around Töölönlahti Bay and Senate Square. Lux Helsinki continues the recent tradition of presenting light installations and fire art at the start of January, including light art that utilises the latest energy efficient technology.

The light installations will be on display in Senate Square and Helsinki Music Centre. Finlandia Hall, the Olympic Stadium Tower and Hesperia Park will also be transformed by projections and lanterns into new aesthetic experiences.

Professor Markku Uimonen, Artistic Director of Lux Helsinki, welcomes visitors to experience new types of urban performances that will amaze and delight them.

“The diversity and potential of this event can be seen in the brilliant spectrum of light art, spectacles and minimalism. The variation in the scale of the art, from small installations to the entire Olympic Stadium Tower, highlights the countless possibilities of art”, Markku Uimonen comments.

Visitors can enjoy the light installations by strolling between Senate Square and the Olympic Stadium, for example via Helsinki’s official Christmas street, Aleksanterinkatu. The total distance in each direction is approximately three kilometres. Some of the installations can also be viewed by passengers in passing trains.  

A brilliant path of light

Senate Square will be the arena for a light installation by the artist Matti Jykylä entitled “rubix xpress” in which the famous puzzle is solved with the aid of light and movement. An estimated 125,000 regular Rubik’s Cubes could fit inside the installation, which uses the latest LED technology.

The new Helsinki Music Centre will present a light installation projected onto its glass façade next to Mannerheimintie. The work of artist Mikko Hynninen and Canadian author Daniel Canty, “Operator” features dozens of fluorescent tubes combined with English text. The light installation is inspired by the aesthetics of 1970s-era pocket calculators and digital watches, except on a giant scale. The installation also incorporates music that can be heard outside the building.

At Finlandia Hall, the artist Juha Rouhikoski creates a new atmosphere for the national architectural icon with lights and shadows. The light installation highlights the building amidst the ever-changing landscape around Töölönlahti Bay.

The Olympic Stadium Tower, Helsinki’s most visible landmark and the Mecca of Finnish sports, is transformed into a “Variant Spectrum” by the artist Jukka Huitila, showing off the tower in a whole new light.

Students of Aalto University, the Theatre Academy and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences have created unique lanterns around energy-efficient bulbs to decorate the trees in Hesperia Park. The artist Kaisa Salmi and Professor Markku Uimonen serve as the curators for the project. Lantern Park begins from Finlandia Hall and ends at the Finnish National Opera, where the Fire Circus Walkea will perform in the Amphitheatre during Epiphany. Visitors can also try their hand at painting with lights!

Performance times 

Lux Helsinki begins on New Year’s Eve, 31 December 2011, and continues until 9 January 2012. The light installations can be admired in non-stop performances daily from 4pm to 10pm. The light installation at Helsinki Music Centre will run non-stop throughout the event.

The Fire Circus Walkea will perform at the Amphitheatre of the Finnish National Opera from 6 to 9 January at 6pm and 7:30pm. Visitors can paint with lights near the Amphitheatre on 6 and 7 January between 5pm and 9pm. Both events take place in Hesperia Park alongside Töölönlahti Bay.

Helsingin Energia is the founding partner of this event. MetroFM is the media partner. VR is a supporting partner. Sun Effects Oy is the technical implementer of the event.

More information: www.luxhelsinki.fi

Lord Mayor’s Independence Day Reception for fourth-graders at Finlandia Hall has become a tradition. This year’s reception given today is the fifteenth in a row. Altogether the fifteen receptions have gathered some 80 000 Helsinki schoolchildren. This year, Lord Mayor Jussi Pajunen’s personal invitation was accepted by 4 700 children and 410 teachers.

Mayor Jussi Pajunen is hosting the reception for the seventh time now. ‘’The Independence Day Reception for children is the highlight of the year also for me. The children’s enthusiasm is catching,’’ says Mayor Pajunen, himself a father of five children and grandfather of one.

Besides Mayor Pajunen, Deputy Mayor Tuula Haatainen and Mr. Rauno Jarnila, Head of the Education Department, and their spouses Mrs. Jaana Pajunen, Mr. Janne Metsämäki and Mrs. Eva Jarnila will take part in the handshaking ceremony.

The Independence Day Reception for fourth-graders was first given in 1997 by Eva-Riitta Siitonen, the then Lord Mayor of Helsinki.

Jigsaw Puzzle of Flavours and Traditional Dancing

After the handshaking ceremony, each guest will be handed a glass of sparkling strawberry drink before going to the table. This year’s menu – Jigsaw Puzzle of Flavours – is the handiwork of Chef Markku Luola and built on local produce. The menu comprises domestic berry flavours, fish, spinach pie, raspberry parsley marinated small meatballs, cherry tomatoes and fresh cucumber.

The children have prepared themselves for the Reception all autumn. Both traditional dancing and etiquette have been practiced in the schools concerned. Probably the least rehearsed type of dance is reggae, performed by the evening’s start artists Jukka Poika & DJ Andor. The Band of the Guards will welcome the incoming guests and provide the music for the dance. The Band will also accompany the National Anthem sung by all together.

Two Fetes to the Minute

The producer of the event, Mrs. Maarit Roschier tells that help in the arrangements is received from many sources. Some 50 students from the Roihuvuori Unit of Helsinki City College of Culinary Art assist Finlandia Hall Restaurant. About 30 students from Lauttasaari upper secondary schools serve as ushers. Many of these helpers have self been celebrating our independence at the Lord Mayor’s reception.

Children are advised to arrive neatly attired. Along the years, however, there have been extremities from sneakers to top-designer evening gowns.

The arrangements for the Reception are the responsibility of the City of Helsinki Events Unit together with the Education Department, HSL (Helsinki Region Transport) and numerous co-operation partners.

More information: Maarit Roschier, Producer, tel. 040 168 8212, Events Unit, Economic Developm

Seurasaari Christmas Path (Joulupolku) is a free pre-Christmas event for families with children, offering visitors peeks into a fairy-tale world and an old-time Christmas. In 2011 the event will be held on Sunday 11 December from 1pm to 5pm. The Christmas Path was originally created to offer children an alternative to the season’s commercialism. One person’s vision gradually developed into an annual pre-Christmas family event for the entire Helsinki Region. In 2010 the event will be organised for the 14th time.

The patron of the event is Dr. Pentti Arajärvi and the parties that make it happen are the City of Helsinki, the Joulupolku Association and hundreds of volunteers who prepare the Christmas Path as a present to the region’s children.

Activities along the Christmas Path

Each year the Christmas Path offers lots of activities, from singing and games to a straw maze, sleigh rides and making Christmas treats. The Christmas trees erected on the island await children’s Christmas decorations, and the elves hide along the path waiting to be discovered. Visitors can also bring a torch along to see the miracles of the woods even after dusk. Visitors can also light candles for peace in the Christmas Arena. The animals of the forest circle roam the Christmas Path giving children gingerbread cookies and cinnamon buns, and Santa Claus with his elves listen to children’s gift wishes. Children are served rice pudding, so they should bring their own plate and spoon.

Detailed programmes and maps are available at the Seurasaari entrance gate. The programme can also be downloaded from the Christmas Path website.

The Baltic Herring Fair in the Market Square is the oldest traditional event in Helsinki. As far as we know, such fairs have been held at least since 1743. The Port of Helsinki and the Premises Centre of the Real Estate Department of the City of Helsinki are in charge of the arrangements, and the Events Bureau of the City of Helsinki assembles the Baltic herring jury. The next fair will be held in yhe autumn 2012.

A tradition at the Baltic Herring Fair is that a Baltic herring jury of ten come together to taste the products and choose the spiced fish and the Baltic herring surprise of the year. There are both experts and lay members in the jury. Traditional trophies and certificates will be awarded for the three best products in both classes on the Market Square stage the same day.

Helsinki Day celebrates the city’s birthday, as well as the 20th anniversary of the Samba Carnaval. In honour of this special occasion, the fun carnaval spirit and music will take over Helsinki this year for the entire weekend.

Helsinki Week will be celebrated in 2010 on 3-20 June and Helsinki Day on 12 June.

Helsinki Week offers and expanded programme of events before, during and after Helsinki Day. This summer residents and tourists of all ages will be treated to exciting things to do and experience. The diverse programme can be seen, heard and even tasted throughout Helsinki, from the city centre to outlying suburbs.

Helsinki Day celebrates the city’s birthday, as well as the 20th anniversary of the Samba Carnaval. In honour of this special occasion, the fun carnaval spirit and music will take over Helsinki this year for the entire weekend.

Details about the programme will be updated on the www.helsinkiviikko.fi website throughout the spring.