Finland vs Sweden Match - Finnkampen 1925
Plaque name: Finland vs Sweden Match
Location: Eläintarha Sports Ground, Vauhtitie 6, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
Plaque awarded: 03/09/2022
Reason: Plaque Category – Competition
The Finland vs Sweden International Match, which is the last surviving but notably still flourishing, dual-nation international track & field meeting in the world, was founded in Helsinki in 1925.
The competition’s history began in the Eläintarha Sports Ground. Today the stadium is the home track of the local club Helsingin Kisa-Veikot and acts as the outdoor warm-up facility for the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, a couple of hundred metres away.
The first match took place from 5 – 6 September 1925 and since 1945, has been an annual fixture which traditionally is held alternately in Finland and Sweden.
Known as the “Ruotsi-ottelu” (Swedish match or battle) to the Finns and the “Finnkampen” (Finnish match or battle) to the Swedes, as a spectator experience this athletics match is more closely related to football or ice hockey than to an invitational track & field meeting.
Spectators bring with them flags & banners to wave, horns & hooters to sound, their faces painted, and hair dyed in national colours. In a less health and safety conscious past, fans smuggled in flares and fireworks onto the stadium tribunes to help light-up their celebrations!