3.2m watch live broadcast of Independence celebrations

A total of 3.2 million people watched the national broadcaster Yle´s live broadcast of the Independence Day celebrations including the reception programme accorded by President Sauli Niinistö and First Lady Jenni Haukio on Thursday, reported Yle.

Yle's live broadcast of the programme attracted 2.51 million viewers at its most.

The ever highest number of viewers tuned in to watch the coverage on Yle Areena’s video streaming service, where the programme was started 570,000 times, said the Yle report, adding that the figure was much higher than the viewers of last year when it was viewed 220,000 times on Yle Areena.

The total number of viewers was 3.2 million who watched a military parade in Mikkeli, as well as the pre- and after-party of the presidential gala.

Last year, a record audience – 2.66 million people – watched the gala celebrating Finland’s independence centenary, said the Yle report, adding that traditionally, the Independence Day ball is country´s most-watched TV programme every year.