Few disturbances reported as Sonisphere draws 47,000 for start of Helsinki festival season

Metallica perform entire Black Album for fans

James Hetfield

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The Sonisphere Festival, headlined by Metallica, went off without any significant disturbances on Monday evening in Helsinki's Kalasatama, despite the presence of around 47,000 people at the venue.
      Both police and rescue service spokespersons confirmed that it had been a relatively peaceful evening all round.
      The police inspector on duty at the show noted that one or two fans had been detained on Monday evening and in the early hours of Tuesday morning for being drunk and disorderly.
     
The trip home after the gig also passed off without serious incidents, even though people were packed like sardines into buses and Metro trains.
      The Helsinki Metro was in operation on Monday night for around an hour longer than usual, but the Kalasatama station was crowded all evening.
      The last trains left around 00:30. There were also long lines and crowds at the Sörnäinen Metro stop and in Helsinki's Central Railway Station.
     
The line-up for the first big rock show of the Helsinki summer also included Hardcore Superstar, Gojira, Ghost, Amorphis, and Machine Head, before Metallica hit the stage at around 21:30 to deliver a two-hour set that included their legendary Black Album in its entirety and an impressive fireworks display.
      Similar Sonisphere events had been held in Pori in 2009 and 2010, and also last year in Helsinki.
     
     
Helsinki's rock festival summer will also be featured in a weekly article to be published later today.


Links:
  Sonisphere

Helsingin Sanomat