MFA: The EU playing field – opening event of Finland’s Presidency

Finland and the European institutions will join forces to host the “EU playing field” tent, where citizens and decision-makers will meet to discuss the presidency and the European Union. Some more laid-back activities will also be on offer in the tent: play table football or get your face painted in biodegradable glitter colours. The tent will be open from 11.00 to 20.00.

Finland has picked climate change, one of the presidency priorities, as the party’s climactic theme: Plastic Mama, a work of enviromental art by Kaisa Salmi, will be mounted in Kansalaistori Square. Made of recycled plastic by the artist and a thousand volunteers, Plastic Mama is a baroque dress that will soar to a height of ten metres.

Here are just some of the other things to do at the summer party in Töölönlahti Park: enjoy a picnic, play backyard games, try out your dance moves, tie a bouquet of flowers or a birch switch for the sauna. Highlights also include music performances and the opening of a junior football tournament, the Helsinki Cup.

The presidency will also feature prominently at SuomiAreena, a public debate forum in Pori (15–19 July) and at the Europe Forum in Turku (29–31 August).

You can keep up with presidency events via the internet or social media #EU2019FI..

• Websites eu2019.fi aneurooppatiedotus.fi (Europe Information, in Finnish and Swedish)
• Instagram: @eu2019fi, @eukulissientakaa
• Twitter: @EU2019FI ja @UM_ET
• Facebook: Eurooppatiedotus
• Flickr: EU2019FI and Eurooppatiedotus

Inquiries: Director Ville Cantell, Europe Information, tel. +358 295 351 847.

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.