Finland will host a winter round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) for the first time this year. Rovaniemi, Lapland, will be the venue for a WRC event from 26 to 28 February.
The need to find an alternative location arose in December when Rally Sweden announced it was unable to host the scheduled event due to the coronavirus situation in the country.
Finland is now set to host two World Rally Championship events this year, with the annual summer rally in the Central Finland city of Jyväskylä already in the calendar.
"We set out to look into the matter and explore our possibilities," said Riku Bitter, CEO of rally organiser AKK Sports. "Of the various options, Rovaniemi with its solid culture in organising winter rallies, good reputation as an international event city and large number of enthusiastic and experienced rally-makers stood out."
In a press release, Bitter said that he was also impressed by how quickly the City of Rovaniemi embraced the idea.
"Our city is supporting the organisation in every way possible by building a high-quality setting for this one-of-a-kind sports event," Chair of the Rovaniemi City Board Liisa Ansala said.
Sweden has reported nearly half a million coronavirus cases. Finland, with a population about half its size, has confirmed fewer than 40,000.