National Parade on the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces
The national parade on the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces will be held in Jyväskylä on 4 June 2023. Along the review of troops and pass in review, the programme will also include an equipment display, Midnight Hawks Air Show and the Finnish Defence Forces’ MILjazz tour concert, among others. Admission to all events is free.
The parade will be participated by units from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, National Defence University, Finnish Border Guard, as well as representatives from national veterans’ and national defence associations. Altogether, the parade will be attended by up to more than 1,500 personnel, over 40 vehicles and 15 aircraft.
The parade will be reviewed by Commander of the Finnish Air Force, Major General Juha-Pekka Keränen and the parade troops will be commanded by Chief of Staff, Air Force Command Finland, Brigadier General Timo Herranen.
Programme for the day
The celebrating of the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces will begin by a flag raising ceremony at the Main Guard (Meritullintori 2) at 8.
The Finnish Flag will be raised by conscripts on guard duty at the Main Guard.
Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Timo Kivinen and representatives of Finnish national defence organisations and trade unions will lay down wreaths at the Crossof the Heroes and at the grave of Marshall Mannerheim at Hietaniemi Cemetery.
Music will be performed by the Guards Band.
On the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces, a Lutheran Service will be held at Helsinki Lutheran Diocese Church at 10.
The guests of honour attending the Lutheran Service will be veterans and lottas.
The equipment display on the Flag Day will be held at Kansalaistori Square at 10-19.
With opportunity for familarisation with the Finnish Defence Forces’ equipment featured in the pass in review, the equipment display will also include equipment by other agencies, the Police and Helsinki Rescue Department. The Uusimaa Regional Office will provide information relating to liability for military service.
In conjunction with the equipment display, the Soldiers’ Home Canteen will be selling refreshments at their salespoint.
The day at Kansalaistori Square will culminate in the Finnish Defence Forces’ summer tour concert featuring the Air Force Big Band with Heikki Silvennoinen as the soloist, the Guard’s Combo with Souls of Women as the soloist, as well as the Show Band of the Finnish Defence Forces’ Conscript Band.
The equipment display will feature among others: Main Battle Tank Leopard 2A6 Surface-to-Air Missile 12 NASAMS II FIN Launcher Armoured Personnel Carrier XA-360 Armoured Personnel Carrier SISU XA-185 Infantry Fighting Vehicle CV9030 Armoured Mortar Vehicle XA-361 Tactical Patrol Vehicle RG32M Heavy Rocket Launcher 298 RSRAKH 06 Armoured Howitzer 155 PSH K9 Armoured Personnel Carrier XA-300 Anti-Ship Missile 85
The review of troops will be arranged at the Senate Square at 12. The troops will be aligning to position starting at 11:15. The public is recommended to arrive on site well on time.
The parade will be reviewed by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö accompanied by Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Timo Kivinen. The field devotional will be given by Field Bishop Pekka Särkiö, and the parade troops will be commanded by Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki.
The parade will be moderated by presenter, YouTuber Jalmafi, Second Lieutenant (Res.) Jalmari Karvinen. Music will be performed by the Guards Band.
To avoid traffic congestion, it is recommended that the public move on foot or by public transport in the city centre during the parade events. The public will be welcome to follow the review of troops from the direction of Pohjois-Esplanadi and Aleksanterinkatu. Pedestrians are kindly asked to use footpaths.
Order of review of troops
A. Parade Reviewing Podium 1. Swallow-Tailed State Flag 2. Jaeger Flag 3. Massed Standards of Veterans 4. Finnish Army Colour Party, Guard Jaeger Regiment 5. Finnish Navy Colour Party, Coastal Brigade 6. Finnish Air Force Colour Party, Satakunta Air Command 7. National Defence University 8. Army Academy 9. Guard Jaeger Regiment 10. Pori Brigade 11. Armoured Brigade 12. The Guards Band 13. Karelia Brigade 14. Utti Jaeger Regiment 15. Finnish Border Guard 16. Local Defence Company 17. Soldiers' Home Association 18. National Defence Training Association of Finland 19. Peacekeepers’ Association 20. Massed Standards of National Defence Organisations 21. Women's National Defence Union 22. Women’s National Emergency Preparedness Association
Welcome!
The pass in review conducted on Mannerheimintie will start at 13:30.
After the review of troops, the dismounted marching detachments will move from the Senate Square to Unioninkatu to Aleksanterinkatu and to Mannerheimintie to the start point of the pass in review at the intersection of Simonkatu and Kaivokatu. Prior to the pass in review, the vehicles part of the review of troops will follow the dismounted marching detachments to Aleksanterinkatu.
The pass in review will involve up to circa 1,600 persons, around 40 vehicles, 15 aircraft, as well as an inter-agency canine detachment. The pass in review can be observed along Mannerheimintie.
The parade event will also include, for the first time, a new pre-series armoured 6x6 personnel carrier procured for the Army.
The flypasts of the pass-in-review will feature Finnish Army NH90 transport helicopters and Hughes MD500 light helicopters, as well as FAF F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters and Hawk jet trainers, and the Finnish Border Guard Super Puma helicopter. The flypasts will cause noise over the area of Helsinki city centre.
The review site for the pass in review will be located in front of Musiikkitalo. The pass in review will be reviewed by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö accompanied by Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Timo Kivinen.
The parade troops will be commanded by Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki.
Music will be performed by the Guards Band.
ORDER OF PASS IN REVIEW
The order of the dismounted detachments part of the parade:
Dismounted detachments
Parade Commander, Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki Swallow-Tailed State Flag Jaeger Flag Massed Standards of Veterans Finnish Army Colour Party, Guard Jaeger Regiment Finnish Navy Colour Party, Coastal Brigade Finnish Air Force Colour Party, Satakunta Air Command National Defence University Army Academy Guard Jaeger Regiment Pori Brigade Armoured Brigade Karelia Brigade Utti Jaeger Regiment Finnish Border Guard Local Defence Company Soldiers' Home Association National Defence Training Association of Finland Peacekeepers’ Association Massed Standards of National Defence Organisations Women's National Defence Union Women’s National Emergency Preparedness Association Inter-agency canine detachment
At Kansalaistori Square, the day will culminate in the Finnish Defence Forces’ summer tour concert featuring the Air Force Big Band with Heikki Silvennoinen as the soloist, and the Guard’s Combo with Souls of Women as the soloist. The trio by Emilia Vihanto, Iina Mutikainen and Klaara Koivunen will bring on stage a multi-faceted show ranging from the classics of soul to rock and pop music hits.
The night will end with the Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces’ Showband. The 20-conscript-strong band’s skill is in rock classics and groovy funks, as well as in contemporary pop music and rap hits.
The national parade on the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces to be held on 4 June 2022 will contribute to changes concerning traffic, parking and public transport in Helsinki. To avoid traffic congestion, the public is kindly asked to move on foot or by public transport in the city centre during the parade events.
The national parade on the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces will be held in Helsinki on 4 June 2022. Along the review of troops and pass in review, the programme will also include an equipment display, and the Finnish Defence Forces’ summer tour concert, among others. All events will have free admission.
