What if Finland conducted political tours?

When we think of tourism and holidays the following images may come to mind: golden beaches, turquoise seas and sun kissed islands lined with coconut palm trees. Regions that have been rocked by recent experiences of conflict tend to be perceived as less desirable holiday destinations. Enter Political Tours, the British based company that turns on a revolutionary concept for travellers who are passionate about politics and current affairs. It offers the opportunity to visit some of the world’s most prominent conflict regions.

Should Finns burn their skis, fling their track spikes and take up some fun sport instead?

“A-ha-ha-ha, that’s a good one, baseball in Finland, ha-ha. Now look, dweeb: they call it pesäpallo, and it’s a different game – get it?”

The issue of Romanian beggars in Helsinki and in cities around the country continues to make a fuss in the Finnish media, especially when the people in the streets have been tied to criminal activities. But a closer look into their world might give us an idea about who they are, where they come from and, most importantly, why they come to Finland.

By the time this story appears, the annual World Ice Hockey Champs will long since have disappeared over the cultural horizon, and in all likelihood aren’t likely to be replaced by anything bigger for quite some time.

While the hockey was often fantastic, the event was so poorly organised and promoted that it makes me wonder how well Finland could handle a bigger event. While I don’t think it is fair to expect the buzz cities the size of London can conjure up for major events, if the event is, as the website claims, the foremost winter sporting event on the calendar, surely it deserved a little hype?

Welcome to the subculture where being “skinhead” identifies with a proud working-class youth dressed up in style – and having nothing to do with racism or fascism.

Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing. But even when it materialises to a high degree, it does not always mean that the whole truth comes out. Most of us would surely agree that some phenomena simply are more “media-sexy” than others, and therefore get more attention in the public eye.