Helsinki 2015: Being there

No 76 OCTOBER 2015

FOR FINLAND,
A WORLD GYMNAESTRADA
50 YEARS IN THE MAKING

For more than half a century, Finland held its breath, hoping for the chance to host a World Gymnaestrada, the popular Gymnastics festival that Finns have flocked to in large numbers since its inception in Rotterdam (NED) in 1953.

This summer, Finland finally got its chance. And as the nearly 21,000 gymnasts who participated in the weeklong performances, celebrations can attest, they made the most of it.

“We are living the dream now,” said Riitta Kaivosoja, Finland’s Minister for Culture and Sport during the Opening Ceremony, where gymnasts marched out in the 1952 Olympic stadium to kick off the largest event ever held in Finland in terms of international participants.

The country was determined from the outset to make its World Gymnaestrada a memorable one. Gymnasts from 53 nations participated in the memorable Opening Ceremony, which featured enthusiastic performances by large Finnish groups of all ages, a foretaste of the special events to come.

As Tinja Karinen, a performer from Finland’s western coast, put it after the Opening Ceremony: “We are presenting the best of ourselves.”

AT THE MESSUKESKUS

Performances at the 2015 World Gymnaestrada were held all over Helsinki, from Linnanmäki Amusement Park to the Helsinki Ice Hall and the gorgeous Senate Square in front of the city’s famous Lutheran Cathedral.

But the beating heart of the World Gymnaestrada was the Messukeskus Exposition Centre, where stages named after former World Gymnaestrada host cities welcomed performers and spectators from all countries. The spacious indoor setting, with its immense cafeteria and high-ceilinged concourse, was the ideal meet and greet place for athletes who camped out between performances making friends and taking pictures with ornately costumed performers from other countries.

By the end of the week, so many had exchanged hats, t-shirts, backpacks and other national gear that it was impossible to tell who was from which country. Everyone had become part of something else - which was the point, of course.

WATCH: Highlights from Helsinki...