Embassy of Finland on 12 May kicked off the three-day outdoor cultural festival ‘Moi Helsinki’ in Beijing at the Ambassador’s residence, gathering more than 500 participants.
The actual festival was held at Xidan Culture Square on 13 – 15 May, offering the experience of the best art and culture from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Moi (pronounced Moy) = Hello! Say hello to Helsinki and Beijing! Helsinki and Beijing with this event celebrated 10 years of close sister-city relationships.
Among the performers were some of Finland’s top names. World music heavyweight accordion artist Kimmo Pohjonen along with Minna Tervamäki, dancer étoile with the Finnish National Ballet, and internationally distinguished dancer and choreographer Tero Saarinen performing at the Beijing Opera with the Finnish Wusheng Company, were among those.
The Finnish Moomins also visited the event, and the festival area presented “surprising experiences for all the senses”.
On Saturday May 14th the event area unfortunately has to be closed, as the local authorities have denied the use of power due to weather conditions. Furthermore, due to great interest in the Moi Helsinki event on Friday May 13th there were some restrictions to the amount of audience at the festival area. According to regulations by local authorities, not all interested visitors were able to enter the event.
There were also other Helsinki and Finland-related cultural events in Beijing in May.
In addition to culture, Beijing and Helsinki strengthened their economic ties around the time of the Moi Helsinki event via industry satellite events in the fields of indoor air quality, arctic maritime, startup ecosystem, and tourism.
The Moi Helsinki event is organized by the Cities of Helsinki and Beijing. The City of Helsinki Cultural Office and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture have co-organized Chinese New Year celebrations in Helsinki since the year 2007.
Source: Embassy of Finland, Moi Helsinki
