Centre of Helsinki erupts in Eurovision frenzy Saturday night
Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland basks in glory of local boys’ stardom
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The victory of the Finnish band Lordi in the Eurovision Song Contest Saturday night sparked rapturous celebrations in the centre of Helsinki.
At about 1:00 AM, soon after the Finnish victory was secured, people started flooding onto the streets to celebrate the new national heroes.
Finnish flags were waved, and brave efforts were made to sing the winning song above the sound of honking car horns and miscellaneous joyous revelry.
By about half past one a cavalcade of cars with passengers leaning out of the windows waving flags, drove along the Esplanade Street. Car stereos were playing Hard Rock Hallelujah at full volume.
"People came in their own cars or taxis to see if anything might be going on in the centre of the city. With everybody coming to see each other, of course things happened", was the analysis of one Helsinki taxi driver.
Before 2:00 AM hundreds of pedestrians gathered around the Havis Amanda fountain on Market Square. The crowd, mainly comprising people in their 20s and 30s, shouted, sang, and danced.
Police cordoned off a few streets in the centre, but otherwise the celebrations were allowed to continue undisturbed. Officials say that the overall mood among the crowd was positive.
The Eurovision victory quickly became the theme of the night at Helsinki bars and restaurants.
The impromptu celebrations died down in the early hours of the morning almost as quickly as they had begun. At half past two, only small groups of Lordi fans were to be seen on the streets of the centre
By sunrise there were queues at taxi ranks which rivalled those usually seen during the Christmas party season. Many gave up and opted to walk home.
Although the drizzle and cool temperatures had dampened the festive mood, renderings of Hard Rock Hallelujah of varying musical quality could still be heard here and there at five in the morning.
In Lordi’s home town Rovaniemi, local residents were eager to savour their home boys’ success - even though the loud street celebrations seen in Helsinki were not repeated in the capital of Finnish Lapland.
"The victory of Lordi is very big for Rovaniemi and for Lapland", said Juhani Juuruspolvi, the chairman of the Rovaniemi City Council. He pointed out that in the vote for the Finnish entry into this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, more than half of the votes for Lordi came from Finnish Lapland.
City leaders discussed how Rovaniemi’s cultural image and tourism industry might benefit from the result. Looming in the background is the city’s bid to be named European Cultural Capital in 2011.
"Rovaniemi now has two magnetic figures - Santa Claus and Lordi" Juuruspolvi pointed out.
The city is also looking into ways of showing its appreciation to lead singer Tomi Putaansuu. One option is to provide a parcel of land for the building of a house - the traditional way that local authorities award athletes who bring home gold medals from international competitions.
At Putaansuu’s home his family members kept out of the limelight. "Tomi will give the interviews himself", said his mother Aino Putaansuu.
At about 1:00 AM, soon after the Finnish victory was secured, people started flooding onto the streets to celebrate the new national heroes.
Finnish flags were waved, and brave efforts were made to sing the winning song above the sound of honking car horns and miscellaneous joyous revelry.
By about half past one a cavalcade of cars with passengers leaning out of the windows waving flags, drove along the Esplanade Street. Car stereos were playing Hard Rock Hallelujah at full volume.
"People came in their own cars or taxis to see if anything might be going on in the centre of the city. With everybody coming to see each other, of course things happened", was the analysis of one Helsinki taxi driver.
Before 2:00 AM hundreds of pedestrians gathered around the Havis Amanda fountain on Market Square. The crowd, mainly comprising people in their 20s and 30s, shouted, sang, and danced.
Police cordoned off a few streets in the centre, but otherwise the celebrations were allowed to continue undisturbed. Officials say that the overall mood among the crowd was positive.
The Eurovision victory quickly became the theme of the night at Helsinki bars and restaurants.
The impromptu celebrations died down in the early hours of the morning almost as quickly as they had begun. At half past two, only small groups of Lordi fans were to be seen on the streets of the centre
By sunrise there were queues at taxi ranks which rivalled those usually seen during the Christmas party season. Many gave up and opted to walk home.
Although the drizzle and cool temperatures had dampened the festive mood, renderings of Hard Rock Hallelujah of varying musical quality could still be heard here and there at five in the morning.
In Lordi’s home town Rovaniemi, local residents were eager to savour their home boys’ success - even though the loud street celebrations seen in Helsinki were not repeated in the capital of Finnish Lapland.
"The victory of Lordi is very big for Rovaniemi and for Lapland", said Juhani Juuruspolvi, the chairman of the Rovaniemi City Council. He pointed out that in the vote for the Finnish entry into this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, more than half of the votes for Lordi came from Finnish Lapland.
City leaders discussed how Rovaniemi’s cultural image and tourism industry might benefit from the result. Looming in the background is the city’s bid to be named European Cultural Capital in 2011.
"Rovaniemi now has two magnetic figures - Santa Claus and Lordi" Juuruspolvi pointed out.
The city is also looking into ways of showing its appreciation to lead singer Tomi Putaansuu. One option is to provide a parcel of land for the building of a house - the traditional way that local authorities award athletes who bring home gold medals from international competitions.
At Putaansuu’s home his family members kept out of the limelight. "Tomi will give the interviews himself", said his mother Aino Putaansuu.
Helsingin Sanomat