Tampere celebrates Finland's Independence Day with a varied programme

Children's Independence day ball at Tampere Hall

The Children's Independence day ball will once again take over the Sorsapuistosali at Tampere Hall. Finland's independence will be celebrated with a theme chosen by the children "Be Yourself".  This year's celebrations will take place in two parts: from 1 pm to 3 pm and from 3 pm to 5 pm. The program will be the same for both parts. 

The party will be hosted by the children of Tampere Children's Parliament and Veera Degerholm from Pikku Kakkonen. The event will include a speech by Deputy Mayor of Tampere Matti Helimo and a greeting from the Children's Parliament.   

DJ Sara-Maaria will be playing best music mix for the dance floor. The children's music ensemble Naattiorkesteri will perform, and there will also be performances by the dance school Tanssittava.

Independence day celebrations at Central Square

Tampere celebrates Finland's Independence Day with a public party open to all at the Keskustori Central Square on 6 December 2024 from 5 pm to 5.30 pm. Singers Anneli Saaristo, Mikko Harju and Marjukka Tepponen will perform at the event.

The event will also feature the Tampere Workers' Association Band, the male choir Tampereen Laulajat and the boys' choir Pirkanpojat. The event will be hosted by Saimi Hoyer. The Deputy Mayor of Tampere, Matti Helimo, will give a speech at the event.

At the end of the celebrations, the buildings in the Central Square area will be illuminated with traditional winter light installations, which will be on display until 6 January 2025. The illuminations will be on daily from 4 pm to 10 pm.

Wreath-laying ceremony at Kalevankangas Cemetery

The traditional Independence Day ceremony will be held at the Kalevankangas Cemetery on Wednesday 6 December from 11 am. The programme will be opened with a fly-over of Kalevankangas by an F18 Hornet. The ceremony will continue with the traditional wreath laying ceremony and a speech by Jouni Markkanen, Deputy Mayor of the City of Tampere. This will be followed by a march-past from the Kalevankangas Cemetery to the Kaleva Church at around 11.35 am. The march will be followed by a service in Kaleva Church starting at 12 noon.