Skip to content
Media
Valtioneuvoston kanslia frontpage

Prime Minister Sipilä to celebrate Finland’s independence with hundreds of children

Government Communications Department
Publication date 21.11.2017 9.38 | Published in English on 21.11.2017 at 15.51
Press release 531/2017

On 5 December, the eve of the Independence Day, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä will host Finland’s centenary celebration for more than 500 schoolchildren from all over the country. The celebration is organised by the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, Ombudsman for Children, and Finland’s 100th anniversary organisation at the Prime Minister’s Office.

First Prime Minister Sipilä will shake hands with each child and welcome them personally to the event. After the festive beginning the children have the opportunity to engage in various activities: dancing, rapping, having their photo taken, or decorating Christmas cookies. The guests may also congratulate Finland with greeting cards that will be placed on display at the celebration.

“Now that Finland’s centenary year is reaching its climax, we should also look into the future. It is a very special pleasure for me to host the independence celebration for ten-year-olds. It is in the hands of today’s children what Finland will look like when celebrating its 150th anniversary of independence”, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä says.

Two ten-year-old children from each Finnish municipality have been invited to the celebration in Helsinki. The two children travelling the longest distance come from Utsjoki in northern Lapland.

Inquiries: Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 0733, Prime Minister’s Office and Maria Gnosspelius, Communications Manager, Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, tel. +358 50 325 6126, [email protected]