als, but the Savonlinna Opera Festival, held at medieval Olavinnlinna Castle, is the most famous. Some of the best (and the most international) festivals are the most remote: check out chamber music in Kuhmo, or folk music in Kaustinen (near Kokkola). For rock, there are big festivals during the Midsummer weekend, and big annual events, such as Ruisrock, the longest-running of rock festivals, at Turku in July. On the lighter side, check out the Sleepyhead Day, where on 27 July the laziest person in the towns of Naantali and Hanko is thrown into the sea. Finland's strangest event is the annual wife-carrying championship held every July in tiny Sonkajrvi.Other Interesting FactsFinland (Finnish name Suomi) is a republic which became a member of the European Union in 1995. Its population is 5.2 million. The capital Helsinki has 555 500 residents. Finland is an advanced industrial economy: the metal, engineering and electronics industries account for 50 % of export revenues, the forest products industry for 30 %. Finland is said to be 'the most on-line nation in the world', with more mobile phones and Internet connections per capita than any other country. Forests cover three quarters of the country's surface area of 338 000 sq. km. Other outstanding features of Finland's scenery are some 190 000 lakes and approximately as many islands. The principal archipelago and the self-governing province of the land Islands lie off the south-west coast while the main lake district, centred on Lake Saimaa, is in the east. Geography Finland is situated in northern Europe between the 60th and 70th parallels of latitude. A quarter of its total area lies north of the Arctic Circle. Finland's neighbouring countries are Sweden, Norway and Russia, which have land borders with Finland, and Estonia across the Gulf of Finland. Much of the country is a gently undulating plateau of worn bedrock and boreal forests, presenting a striking mixture of wooded hills and w...
