Finland’s government allocates €10m to 2030 athletics championships bid

The Finnish government has approved a €10 million allocation for the Finnish Sports Federation’s bid to host the 2030 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, bypassing standard grant procedures, Helsingin Sanomat reports.

The sum is unusually large compared to previous event funding. Normally, grants are applied for through the Ministry of Education and Culture’s open call, which this year distributed €2.2 million across 34 events.

Project manager Harri Halme, a sports manager with ties to the National Coalition Party, reportedly used the same fast-track method previously employed by former party minister Jan Vapaavuori for the Garden Helsinki project. Halme, who has worked on election campaigns for late MP Ilkka Kanerva and current Environment Minister Sari Multala, actively lobbied for the funding.

Sports Minister Mika Poutala (Christian Democrats) told Helsingin Sanomat he had proposed increasing general sports event funding to €5 million through an open application process. However, the ruling coalition’s leadership had already decided against increasing the budget but approved the separate €10 million allocation for the Sports Federation. Poutala called the process problematic and unfair to other sports, noting that the Gymnastics Federation had simultaneously applied for support for a 2031 event.

The European Athletics Association will decide on the 2030 host city later this year. Finland’s last European Athletics Championships in 2012 resulted in a €3.6 million loss for the Sports Federation, which required additional emergency funding from the ministry to avoid financial distress.