Current affairs

The Finnish sauna is an almost mystical place, where participants undergo a period of intense heat and humidity and emerge clean, refreshed and – if legends are true – healed. At Startup Sauna, just west of Helsinki, young companies undergo their own extreme trial and reappear ready to compete in the global marketplace.

Author Sofi Oksanen's Purge, an international sensation, shows for the first time on stage in the UK in February-March as Borealis Theatre brings the British premiere of Purge to London’s Arcola Theatre. A startling play and a best-selling novel, Purge is the story of two women, each from different generations, each troubled by the dark unspoken history that binds them. The small production play has been reviewed well by the British media.

Finland’s 12th president, Sauli Niinistö, starts his tenure on 1 March. According to Kyösti Karvonen, managing editor of newspaper Kaleva, it appears that no major changes in Finnish foreign and security policy are in store for some time, if at all.

Sauli Niinistö receives 62.6 percent of the second-round vote, becoming Finland’s next president, while Pekka Haavisto gets the remaining 37.4 percent. The 63-year-old Niinistö is a former finance minister and can be described a pro-European, moderate conservative. The results surprise no one, but this election is nonetheless groundbreaking in several respects.

Finnish voters have elected Sauli Niinistö from the moderate conservative National Coalition Party as the nation's 12th president in a decisive second round on Sunday 5th February. The 63-year-old former finance minister defeated the Green’s Pekka Haavisto by 62.6 per cent to 37.4 per cent.

The purpose of the Team Finland London Business Newsletter, published three times a year, is to share information and engage the Finnish business society in the UK in the planning of future activities.

The UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, co-chaired by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and President of South Africa Jacob Zuma, submitted its report to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Monday, 30 January 2012.

Pekka Haavisto of the Green Party rides a wave into round two of the presidential election and faces Sauli Niinistö. Niinistö and Haavisto actually hold very similar positions on many issues, so pundits are speculating about how the final two will differentiate themselves. Both are pro-EU and both possess significant experience on the international scene.

After taking the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by storm last August, FORK – the Finnish rock a cappella group – make their debut in the UK capital at the London A Cappella Festival on Friday 13 January. Their shows not only feature world-class vocals, but also theatrical stagecraft, fabulous costumes and state-of-the-art stage production.