Thousands of people gathered in downtown Helsinki to kick off the traditional May Day celebrations on Sunday evening.
This year the ceremony, which involves a group of students hoisted by a crane above the fountain-statue Havis Amanda and throngs of people below, was carried out by students from Aalto University at about 6 pm.
Members of the institution's student union, dressed in their school overalls placed a large cap — twice the size of a standard issue student cap — on the head of Helsinki's iconic Havis Amanda statue.
"You can practise a little in advance. It's a one-time job," said Topias Turppa, chair of the ceremony team.
Turppa said that in his first year at university, he swam in the fountain. Last year, he led the march to the Market Square.
Scores of other student ceremonies and celebrations took place around the whole country in cities like Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, Rovaniemi, Tampere and Vaasa on Sunday evening.
Rest for the statue
Turppa considered the crowning ceremony to be unique, especially this year as the statue will undergo repairs after the festivities.
"The statue deserves a year's rest," Turppa told Yle.
The 112 year-old statue is the centre of many Finnish festivities, including sports accomplishments. As Finnish success has become more commonplace in the past few years, the ageing statue's integrity has been brought into question.
This has necessitated conservation work to preserve the statue.
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