Welcome to Turku - Finland and to the 156th edition of the Forum Song Contest (FSC).
Theme: ‘Suomi: The History of Finland’
Winner FSC January 2022
Congratulations! ^^
The Host city for this FSC #156-edition is: Turku - Finland sometimes known also by its Swedish
name Åbo. It’s a city & former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura
River in the region of Finland Proper (or Varsinais-Suomi). The region was originally called Suomi
(Finland) which later became the name for the whole country. The population of Turku is 195.000
It is the sixth largest city in Finland after Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu. There are ca
330.000 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region , ranking it as the 3rd largest urban area in total
in Finland , after the Greater Helsinki area & Tampere sub-region . The city is officially billingual as
around 5% of its population identify Swedish as their mother-tongue. It is also a multicultural city
Turku has a long history, and has been the site of many important events and has extensively infl
uenced Finnish history , as the former capital city . The city was designated the European Capital
of Culture for 2011. In 1996, it was declared the "Christmas City" of Finland. Also, Turku has been
officially declared the Food Capital of Finland, because of its high quality cuisine and fish market.
The Finnish name Turku originates from an Old East Slavic word , tǔrgǔ, meaning "market place".
The word turku still means "market place" in some Finnish dialects. In Finnish, the genitive of Tur
ku is Turun , meaning " of Turku ". The Finnish names of organizations & institutes of Turku often
begin with this word, as in Turun yliopisto for the University of Turku (Åbo universitet in Swedish)
Turku has a long history as Finland's largest city , & at times administrative center . The city's ide
ntity stems from its status as the oldest city in Finland & the country's first capital. Archaeologic
al findings date back to the Stone Age & the area was densely populated in the Iron Age. The old
est known road , Hämeen härkätie , connected the Old Castle of Lieto to Tavastia, in 9th Century.
Early literary sources , such as Al-Idrisi's world map from 1154 , mentions Turku. Turku Cathedral
was consecrated in 1300 . During the Middle Ages , Turku was the seat of the Bishop of Turku (a
title later upgraded to Archbishop of Turku), covering the then eastern half of the Kingdom of Sw
eden (most of present-day Finland) until the 17th century . Dignitaries also had residences there.
Even if Turku had no official capital status, both the Dukes and Governors-General of Finland usu
ally had their Finnish residences there . In the aftermath of the War against Sigismund , the town
was the site of the Åbo Bloodbath . In 1640, the first university in Finland , the Royal Academy of
Turku, was founded in Turku. Turku was also the meeting place for the States of Finland in 1676.
After the Finnish War , which ended when Sweden ceded Finland to Imperial Russia at the Treaty
of Fredrikshamn in 1809, Turku became briefly the official capital, but soon lost the status to Hel
sinki , as Emperor Alexander I, felt that Turku was too far from Russia & too aligned with Sweden
to serve as the capital , of the Grand Duchy of Finland . This change officially took place in 1812.
The government offices that remained in Turku were finally moved to the new capital after the Gr
eat Fire of Turku , which destroyed a large portion of the city in 1827. After the fire, a new & safer
city plan was drawn up , by German architect Carl Ludvig Engel , who had also designed, the new
capital, Helsinki. Turku remained the largest (population) city in Finland for another twenty years.
‘Suomi: The History of Finland’
‘A Journey through the Ages’
It's thought that the 1st people inhabited Finland approximately 120.000-130.000 years ago. The
area that is now Finland was settled in , at the latest , ca 8.500 BC during the Stone Age towards
the end of last glacial period. In the Bronze Age, permanent all-year-round cultivation and animal
husbandry spread , but the cold climate slowed the change . In the Iron Age the population grew
especially in Häme&Savo regions. Finland proper was the most densely populated area. Cultural
contacts to the Baltics & Scandinavia became more frequent . Commercial contacts in the Baltic
Sea region grew and extended during the eighth & ninth centuries according to historical records
The 12th and 13th centuries were a violent time in the northern Baltic Sea. The Livonian Crusade
was ongoing and the Finnish tribes such as the Tavastians & Karelians were in frequent conflicts
with Novgorod and with each other. Also, during the 12th & 13th centuries several crusades from
the Catholic realms of the Baltic Sea area were made against the Finnish tribes . As result of the
crusades , and the colonization of some Finnish coastal areas with Christian Swedish population
during the Middle Ages including the old capital Turku, Finland gradually became part of the king
dom of neighbouring Sweden ( a nordic power ) & the sphere of influence of the Catholic Church
Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration, & education; Finnish was
chiefly a language for the peasantry , clergy, & local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking are
as. During the Protestant Reformation (the 1500s) , the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism
In the 16th century Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish, and Finland's curr
ent capital city , Helsinki , was founded by Gustav I of Sweden. The first university in Finland , the
Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640 . Finland suffered a severe famine 1696–1697
, during which about one third of the Finnish population died , & a devastating plague a few years
later . In the 18th century , wars between Sweden & Russia twice led to the occupation of Finland
by Russian forces, known as the Greater Wrath (1714–1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742–1743).
The Swedish era ended in the Finnish War, 1809. In 1809 , having been taken over by the Russian
in the Finnish War , Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy, in the Russian Empire . In early
1900s cries for independence were getting louder in Finland & in 1918 civil war broke out . A Finn
ish republic was formed in 1919. Finland fought the Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939-1940
after the Soviet Union attacked Finland . With outside help the Finns avoided occupation in 1944.
In the modern era , Finland acted as a ‘neutral’ zone between the West and Russia. Finland joined
the EU in 1995, went through an economic recession in the early 90s but enjoyed economic grow
th in the late 90s. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Finland felt more free to have an indepen
dent foreign policy . Finland’s history is marked by much hardship & it has made its people tough
(‘sisu’ is a word that well describes the toughness, unyeildingness and perseverance of the Finns)
In 1918, a new university , the Åbo Akademi -the only Swedish-language university in Finland- was
founded in Turku. 2 years later, the Finnish-language University of Turku was founded alongside it
These two universities are the second & third to be founded in Finland , both by private donations
In the 20th century , Turku was called "Finland's gateway to the West" by several known historians
The city enjoyed good connections with other Western European countries and cities, especially
since the 1940s with Stockholm across the Gulf of Bothnia. In the 1960s, Turku became the first
Western city to sign a twinning agreement with Leningrad in the Soviet Union , leading to greater
inter-cultural exchange, and providing a new meaning to the city's 'gateway to the west' function.
As for architecture in the city, it has been impacted by its history & has stone-and-brick buildings
a grid plan, and broad streets. It, therefore lacks a medieval core unlike many other European citi
es. Turku also was stripped of virtually all of its old wood buildings post–World War II, as part of
a modernization drive. Destruction of old and historic buildings has been criticized in later years.
Turku is best explored on foot and the city is very compact and pretty easy to navigate . Virtually
all the must-see attractions in Turku lie along the Aura river - the city’s main river - and are within
comfortable walking distance of each other . Financially, the business district in the city's econo
my is centred on the Port of Turku ( line Turku-Stockholm ) and other service-oriented industries
The city is also a renowned high tech centre - the Turku Science Park area in Kupittaa hosts over
300 companies from the fields of biotechnology and information technology , as well as several
institutions of higher learning , that work closely with the business sector. Cultural venues in the
city of Turku incl. several theatres , cinemas, and art galleries, and a city philharmonic orchestra.
City sights: Turku Castle , Turku Cathedral (most important religious building in Finland), Fountain
Harmonia, Forum Marinum Maritime Centre, Sibelius Museum, Ruissalo, St Michael’s Church, Wä
inö Aaltonen Museum of Art , Turku Archipelago, Naantali town, Turku Kupittaa Park. The city has
a large student population and also a share of restaurants , cafes, shopping amenities and hotels
Turku is also a city of sports. It has two football teams playing at the top national level, the Veikk
ausliiga : FC Inter and TPS . HC TPS of Turku , is one of the most successful teams in Finnish ice
hockey history. The Paavo Nurmi Marathon is an annual sporting event in Turku. Turku is also ho
me to the Eagles Rugby Football Club as well as a successful lacrosse club named Turku Titans.
The Host venue for FSC #156 February 2022 is : the Logomo in Turku , Finland . The building
complex was once an old VR machine shop and has been turned into a cultural venue in Turku in
close proximity to the Turku railway station. The building includes galleries, stages incl a concert
hall, a restaurant, as well as working spaces for businesses and artists. The Logomo centre, Byrå
and Konttori facilities house more than 400 working employees and over 70 companies. The buil
ding was opened in 2011 , as a part of the Turku European Capital of Culture festivities . Logomo
hosts a variety of conferences concerts and other events. Logomo hosted the Turku City Theatre
for a while and has also served as the location of popular television series such as : The Voice of
Finland and The Voice Kids . In the past years Logomo has housed over 1000 different events, wi
th more than 370.000 visitors passing through its doors. The Logomo Hall is the largest venue in
the Logomo complex. Thanks to its unique adaptable seating section, which can be moved using
air cushion technology , the hall can be modified to suit events of different sizes & configurations
(seating capacity from 750 to 3500). The acoustics in the hall are unique & optimized for any pro
duction demanding soundstage-like noise levels and acoustically dry environment . The Logomo
has hosted many music concert events since it opened its doors , both for locals artists , & more
known singers / bands. They are proud to host this evening’s edition of the Forum Song Contest.
Our lovely Hosts this evening are:
Jaana Pelkonen and Heikki Paasonen
Jaana Pelkonen (born 1977) is a former television hostess, now member of parliament . She has
hosted several popular tv-shows. She has hosted the Finnish National Finals for ESC & co-hosted
ESC 2007 GF in Finland. She is proud to co-host this evening’s edition of the Forum Song Contest
Heikki Paasonen (born 1983) is a Finnish television presenter. He came to prominence as host of
‘Idols’ with Ellen Jokikunnas & was also a presenter on The Voice TV in 2007. He was Yle's comm
entator for ESC 2007 GF. He is proud to co-host this evening’s edition of the Forum Song Contest.