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| Finlandia Hall | |
|---|---|
 Finlandia Hall in September 2008 | |
  Location within Finland | |
| General information | |
| Location | Finlandia Park |
| Coordinates | 60°10′33″N 24°55′59″E / 60.17583°N 24.93306°E |
| Construction started | December 1967 |
| Completed | 2 December 1971 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 20,524 m2 (220,920 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Alvar Aalto |
| Main contractor | Construction Office Arvonen Oy (withdrew from the project) Arvo Westerlund Oy (completed the project) |
The Finlandia Hall is a congress and event venue in the centre of Helsinki on the Töölönlahti Bay, owned by the City of Helsinki. The building, which was designed by architect Alvar Aalto, was completed in 1971. Every detail in the building is designed by Aalto. The designs were completed in 1962, with building taking place between 1967 and 1971. The Congress Wing was designed in 1970 and built in 1973–1975. In 2011, the building was expanded with new exhibition and meeting facilities. Finlandia Hall is known as the venue for the OSCE Summit (Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe) held in August 1975, attended by 35 world leaders, including the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, and the President of the United States, Gerald Ford.[1]
The inauguration of the Finlandia Hall was celebrated on 2 December 1971. The inauguration concert included the first performance of Einojuhani Rautavaara's Meren tytär ('Daughter of the Sea') and Aulis Sallinen's Symphony (opus 24), as well as Sibelius's violin concerto with Isaac Stern as the violin soloist of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
- ^ Pekka Suhonen, Petri Mustonen, Eeva-Kaarina Holopainen, Finlandia-talo: tapahtumia, ihmisiä, musiikkia [Finlandia Hall: Events, People, Music]. Otava, Helsinki, 2001.