Finland's Ovi

First of May celebrations culminated on Tuesday in sunny but rather chilly weather, as people convened in the Kaivopuisto area for their traditional May Day picnics.

First of May celebrations culminated on Tuesday in sunny but rather chilly weather, as people convened in the Kaivopuisto area for their traditional May Day picnics. 

Police estimated that nearly 50,000 people were in Kaivopuisto. The Student Union of the University of Helsinki and the YL Male Voice Choir greeted President Tarja Halonen and her husband, Dr. Pentti Arajärvi at the Presidential Palace at 11:00 in the morning. An estimated 1,250 people took part in the traditional workers’ May Day march. A Jesus march organised by the Pentecostal Church attracted about 2,000 participants.
     
Police responded to 752 emergency calls during the day, which is nearly 100 more than in the previous years. The number of assaults grew from last year’s 47 to 73 this year. Firefighters had to put out a number of fires in rubbish dumpsters. The most serious accidents were home fires in Puotila and Pihlajamäki. A man was seriously injured in the Pihlajamäki fire.
     
Portable toilet facilities were vandalised in Kaivopuisto on Monday night.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at 7:50 am and is filed under Finland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.