The ceremony at Observatory Hill was followed by an ecumenical church service at Helsinki's Lutheran Cathedral led by Bishop Simo Peura and attended by President Tarja Halonen and her two predecessors, Mauno Koivisto and Martti Ahtisaari. This year, special tribute was paid to veterans of the Winter War. The 105-day war between Finland and the former Soviet Union began 70 years ago, on November 30, 1939.
Church services, concerts and at special ceremonies at veterans' cemeteries were some of the special activities to commemorate the day. In the evening, university students in Helsinki marched in a traditional torchlight procession from Hietaniemi Cemetery to the Senate Square.
Independence Day culminated with a gala at the President’s Palace. Around 1,800 guests attended this year. The event was broadcast on YLE TV channels 1 and 5. Traditionally, it is one of the most popular television broadcasts of the year. Around 8 pm on Sunday, 2.3 million people were tuned in, well over one third of the population. By 10 pm there were still one and a half million viewers.
Meanwhile, charity worker Heikki Hursti organised a traditional, alternative Independence Day celebration for the poor in Helsinki’s Hakaniemi Market Square on Sunday.
Demonstrators also gathered on Sunday to protest Finland’s membership in the European Union and alleged wrongdoing by its forest industry internationally.