Uncertainty about the former Hartwall Arena will lead to the cancellation of Björk’s Finland show; Manowar plays in Espoo
We recently reported that the former Hartwall Arena – now called Helsinki Hall – has an uncertain future ahead of it. Since 2013, the largest concert venue in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, has been owned by Russian oligarchs – Gennady Timchenko and brothers Arkady and Boris Romanovich Rotenberg – who are now on the EU’s sanctions list in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To avoid an association with the Russian main owners, Helsinki-based beverage company Hartwall, the arena’s largest sponsor and nominee, stopped sponsoring and removed all Hartwall signs from the venue walls on March 2, 2022. at the same time, event organizers making reservations for the arena began looking for alternative venues. These provisions include e.g. Manowar, Björk, KISS and Care. Now there are some updates.
Finnish date Björk“Orchestral Tour 2022” has been canceled completely. According to the official statement, “a suitable place will replace Björk was not found and the concert has now been canceled. “More information on ticket returns can be found here.
Finnish date Manowar“Crushing The Enemies Of Metal Anniversary Tour 2022/2023” has been moved and moved from Helsinki to Espoo:
“A new date and place has been confirmed for our performance, originally planned for Helsinki Hartwall Arena in April 2022: 1.2.2023 Metro Areena, Espoo”
– Manowar
Tickets and more information can be found here.
As for concerts KISS and Care Organizers still seem to be looking for alternative places.
The former Hartwall Arena may be forced to sell if its debts are not paid, Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen expressed concern that Helsinki could lose events:
“This can have a negative effect on what kind of event host city Helsinki can be like. Unfortunately, some events may move out of town. ”
– Juhana Vartiainen