500 guests invited to Koivisto´s funeral

More than 500 dignitaries, in addition to the bereaved familyand Finnish leaders, will attend the late former President Mauno Koivisto's state funeral scheduled for May 25, said a government press release on Saturday.

The preparatory committee formed earlier for the state funeral of the late President convened on Friday and decided that the foreign states will be represented at ambassadorial level.

The overall funeral arrangements have been agreed with the bereaved family.

The committee discussed all aspects of the preparations for the state funeral, including the funeral cortege, the invitations and flag flying arrangements.

The funeral will take place at 1 pm in Helsinki Cathedral. The burial will be in Hietaniemi Cemetery, and a memorial ceremony for invited guests will be held in the House of the Estates.

The funeral cortege will depart from Helsinki Cathedral after the funeral. The cortege will proceed along the following route: Unioninkatu - Aleksanterinkatu - Snellmaninkatu - Vironkatu - Meritullinkatu – Pohjoisranta - Pohjoisesplanadi - Mannerheimintie - Arkadiankatu - Hietaniemi Cemetery. The cortege will stop outside the government Palace, the Bank of Finland and the Presidential Palace.

The route will have to be cleared of vehicles, and the authorities will issue detailed information about this and other traffic arrangements at the start of the week.

The public can view the cortege along its route as it proceeds from Helsinki Cathedral to Hietaniemi Cemetery.

The Prime Minister’s Office decided on 19 May that all government agencies and public bodies will observe the flag flying arrangements determined for the state funeral. It is also recommended that the same flag flying arrangements be observed throughout the country.

On 25 May, flags are to be flown at half mast from 8.00 in the morning until the end of the memorial ceremony, which is expected to be at about 5:30 pm. At that time, flags are to be raised to full mast and finally lowered at sunset, but no later than 2100 hours.

Mauno Henrik Koivisto died on May 12 in Helsinki at the age of 93. He was President of the Republic of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He was the ninth President of Finland.