Design competition for Koivisto memorial opens

A design competition will be held for the memorial honouring former president Mauno Koivisto, said a government press release on Thursday.

The winning design to be completed and put in place in the park outside the Little Parliament by 25 November 2023, when 100 years will have passed since the birth of the former president Koivisto. The design competition was announced on Thursday.

The contest is being organised by the memorial committee appointed by the Prime Minister’s Office in December 2019. The memorial committee headed by Prime Minister Emeritus Paavo Lipponen invites all professional Finnish artists and professional foreign artists permanently residing in Finland to take part in the competition.

An official memorial has been created to commemorate all former presidents of the Republic of Finland. The monuments are located in Helsinki and have been donated to the City of Helsinki upon their completion. The design competition for President Koivisto’s memorial continues this tradition.

The deadline for submitting a design is 15 April 2021. The results of the competition will be announced on 1 September 2021.

The winners will be awarded a total of EUR 55,000, where the First prize winner will get EUR 20,000, the second prize winner EUR 15,000, and the third prize winner EUR 10,000.

In addition, the prize committee may award two honourable mention prizes of EUR 5,000 each.