Thousands of young people gathered across Finnish cities on Saturday night to celebrate the end of the school year.
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In the capital, celebrations concentrated in Helsinki’s Kaivopuisto, with police estimating 2,000 to 3,000 young people at the park. Image: Matti Matikainen / Yle
Police across Finland intervened in several large gatherings of young people over the school-leavers’ weekend, responding to disturbances, public intoxication and dangerous behaviour in multiple cities.
In Helsinki, celebrations concentrated in Kaivopuisto park, where police estimated 2,000 to 3,000 youths had gathered by 10pm on Saturday. The evening saw fights, fireworks set off in crowds and beer cans thrown at officers. The park was eventually cleared of revellers.
In Oulu, the situation escalated in Kiikkeli, where hundreds of young people gathered.
“There were several fights in the crowd,” police said, adding that “some of those detained had to be restrained due to violent behaviour.”
Police issued a public appeal to parents on social media urging them to collect their children, saying the event was no longer safe. Despite this, the partying continued into the early morning hours. Officers handed out fines to underage drinkers and confiscated dozens of cans of mild alcohol, several litres of spirits, knives and fireworks. Police were also called to incidents in Oulu’s city centre, suburbs and surrounding areas.
Elsewhere, intoxication, assaults and the use of fireworks kept police busy in regions such as Eastern and Western Uusimaa, Southeast Finland and Häme. In Espoo and Lohja alone, dozens of litres of alcohol were seized.
According to the Western Uusimaa police, the largest gatherings were in Espoo’s Haukilahti, Liessari in Lohja and at Nummelanharju School in Vihti. Cooler weather appeared to dampen turnout compared to previous years.
In Haukilahti, the beach was cleared by police due to rising levels of disorder, including the use of fireworks. The grounds of Nummelanharju School were also emptied after some youths attempted to interfere with police operations.
In Lahti, officers intervened in a number of assaults involving minors at the harbour area.
In Tampere, an estimated 4,000 young people gathered at Rosendahl beach. Despite the large turnout, the evening remained relatively calm.
“Considering the number of attendees, the night was quite peaceful overall,” said Emmi Erkkilä, coordinator of youth services for the City of Tampere.