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Design competition for memorial honouring former president Mauno Koivisto now open

Government Communications Department
Publication date 1.10.2020 9.35
Press release 616/2020

A design competition is being held for the memorial honouring former president Mauno Koivisto. The goal is for the winning design to be completed and put in place in the park outside the Little Parliament by 25 November 2023, when 100 years will have passed since the birth of former president Koivisto. The design competition was announced on Thursday 1 October.

The contest is being organised by the memorial committee appointed by the Prime Minister’s Office in December 2019. The memorial committee, headed by Prime Minister Emeritus Paavo Lipponen, invites all professional Finnish artists and professional foreign artists permanently residing in Finland to take part in the competition. 

An official memorial has been created to commemorate all former presidents of the Republic of Finland. The monuments are located in Helsinki and have been donated to the City of Helsinki upon their completion. The design competition for President Koivisto’s memorial continues this tradition.

Design competition for the memorial – timetable and prizes

The deadline for submitting a design is 15 April 2021. The results of the competition will be announced 1 September 2021

The winners will be awarded a total of EUR 55,000, which will be divided as follows:

  • First prize: EUR 20,000
  • Second prize: EUR 15,000
  • Third prize: EUR 10,000

In addition, the prize committee may award two honourable mention prizes of EUR 5,000 each.

Composition of the prize committee

The prize committee will consist of the members of former president Koivisto’s memorial committee:

  • Paavo Lipponen, Prime Minister Emeritus (Chair)
  • Timo Lankinen, Permanent State Under-Secretary, Prime Minister's Office (Vice Chair)
  • Antti Ahlava, Architect, Professor, Aalto University
  • Heikki Allonen, Master of Science (Engineering), representative of Koivisto’s immediate family
  • Pirjo Sanaksenaho, Professor, Aalto University
  • Sami Sarvilinna, City Manager, City of Helsinki
  • Maija Tanninen-Mattila, Director, Helsinki Art Museum

and the following professional artists appointed by the Artists’ Association of Finland:

  • Kaarina Kaikkonen, sculptor
  • Antti Tanttu, artist

Sanna Helopuro, Senior Adviser for Legislative Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office will serve as secretary of the prize committee and Aura Lehtonen, Competition Ombudsman at the Finnish Arts Society will serve as mediator in the design competition.

Inquiries: Timo Lankinen, Permanent State Under-Secretary (from 5 October), tel. +358 295 160 300, Sanna Helopuro, Senior Adviser for Legislative Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 170, and Tiina-Kaisa Laakso-Liukkonen, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 295 160 220, Prime Minister's Office