Helsinki Arena, as it was called for the Eurovision song contest 2007, is commonly known as Hartwall Arena due to its sponsor. Or it was as it is no longer sponsored by them nor the arena is in use anymore. Thanks to Russia's crazy war in Ukraine.
The arena has been owned by Russians Roman Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko, both with close ties to Putin, since 2013. After the war started scheduled events started being removed or cancelled, the major ticket offices stopped selling tickets there one by one, and by March 2, 2022 the main sponsor Hartwall beverages cancelled their sponsorship and the same day took off their name off the building's walls. At the same time the Ice Hockey World championships games that were to be played there in May along with Tampere's new multi use Nokia Arena were moved out as well. Those games will be played now in Helsinki Ice Hall that has a capacity of 8200. Without Russia and Belarus as both were expelled for obvious reasons.
Meanwhile Hartwall arena stands empty and abandoned some five kilometers from Helsinki center as a sad reminder of the crisis, sanctions and the madness of it all. I have seen there besides the Eurovision 2007 for example Laura Pausini twice, Eros Ramazzotti three times, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston and Kylie Minogue. Great memories with a sad undertone now. #StopWar #StopPutin
"Russia goodbye!"
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