Award-winning youth association rented venue to neo-Nazi group without knowledge

An internationally banned neo-Nazi network, Blood & Honour, has been holding concerts for years at a community hall in Jyväskylä, Finland, owned by an award-winning youth association that claims it was unaware of the events, reports Yle.

The neo-Nazi group is set to host another concert at the Tapiola community hall this weekend, according to Yle’s investigative program MOT. Blood & Honour, which has been banned in several countries due to ties to terrorism, has used the venue for multiple events, including a gathering last year where attendees from across Europe—some with criminal records—participated.

The youth association, named Jyväskylä Regional Youth Association and recognized as the 2023 Youth Association of the Year, rents out the Tapiola hall for various purposes. Chairperson Tiina Mankonen told Yle that the group was unaware of the nature of the events organized by the renters, who typically book the space as private individuals.

“We didn’t know,” Mankonen said. “All people, regardless of background, are welcome here.” Despite learning of the neo-Nazi group’s activities—including a song performed last year advocating the lynching of Black people and a banner reading “Say no to immigrants”—the association stated it would not cancel the upcoming rental agreement. Mankonen added that the board would review rental terms more carefully in the future.

Blood & Honour, one of the oldest and most prominent neo-Nazi networks, remains legal in Finland, unlike in countries such as Germany, the UK, and Canada, where it is banned or has had its assets frozen. Authorities in those nations consider the group’s activities, including its concerts, as incitement to terrorism.

The group’s key figure in Finland, a 50-year-old construction entrepreneur from Jyväskylä, has reportedly rented the Tapiola hall in previous years. Blood & Honour uses proceeds from ticket sales, merchandise, and food sales at events to fund its operations.

Neo-Nazi groups often schedule major gatherings in late April, near Adolf Hitler’s birthday on April 20. This year, Finland has seen multiple far-right events, including the Intolerant Insurrection Fest in southern Finland on April 18, a lecture on “population replacement” by the nationalist group Suomen Sisu, and the Awakening ethnonationalist conference the following day.